"With God It's Always Spring."

This week we had the privilege of going to a school in Asuncion to give a presentation about responding to bullying with Biblical principles. The school was lovely (second graders are very cute, y'all), and it was a wonderful time.

There was a sign on the wall that made me pause, though. It read, "Con Dios siempre es primavera." Translated, that means, "with God it's always spring." 

While I was happy to see a sign like that at a government-run school, I wasn't really sure whether or not I agreed. Literally, of course, spring is only around 25% of the time—but the metaphor isn't so accurate either. 

The walk of a Christian isn't one of perpetual sunshine and birdsong. Sometimes the winds come, and the storm clouds gather. But that doesn't mean that God isn't good.

 

A time for spring

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted."

There is a time for spring—and let me tell you, spring is one of my favorite times of year. I really enjoy the feeling of the warm sun on my skin after a long bundled-up winter, and I love seeing all the tiny new flower petals bloom.

But there's a time for summer too. And a time for fall, and a time for winter. 

To put the metaphor in plain terms, there's a time where you can enjoy new life and comfort, and there's a time where you don't. Sometimes, nothing new or exciting is happening, and you've got to live for Jesus in the humdrum mundanity of everyday life. 

Sometimes you're going through a dry season, or mourning loss. And that's okay.

One problem with saying that God always brings spring is that it makes us think that if it isn't spring, God isn't there. And that couldn't be further from the truth! God doesn't depend on our emotions, and he's the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). 

Some days you lie down in green pastures, and other days you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. But God is with you always. 

 

Life is hard, and that's okay.

If the world was spring all the time, what would that actually be like? 

It wouldn't be as good as it first sounds. We'd get bored of the warmth and long for a change, or simply forget how nice spring actually is—us humans have a nasty habit of ungratefulness, and getting used to our blessings is a real problem. 

We enjoy springtime because of the contrast with winter. Instead of bundling up every time you want to go outside, or waking up each morning wondering if you'll be trapped at home due to a snowfall (if it snows a lot where you're from, anyway!), you get to enjoy warm weather and beautiful colors. Grey gives way to gold, and brown gives way to green. 

But imagine if that contrast wasn't there. What if we lived in a perpetual Eden-like state, where the colors always splashed around like a Monet painting, and the weather was always perfect, and the birds always sang? 

Do you think we'd actually notice? 

Nah, we humans have a really short memory. We need to be reminded of God's grace all the time, and spring is something he uses to do that. 

So what if the Christian walk was always easy and pretty and warm? 

I know I'd forget about God pretty quickly. Trials draw us closer to our Father—warmth is a gift he gives us, not the only thing we need. 

Even though a perpetual spring sounds tempting, that isn't going to happen on this earth. And our sinful nature means that it wouldn't fix everything even if it did, because we are sanctified through trials. 

And doesn't God love us? That's why he gives us the winter, after all—he wants what's best for us, and that means discipline. That means trials. That means putting us in difficult situations so that we grow, because the final spring is going to be so much better after the winters that shaped us. 

 

See the growth, not the blizzard

Did you know that without the winter, crops wouldn't grow as well? 

It's true. Snow settles on the ground when it's too cold to rain, and it waters the dry soil gently as it melts. In some places, it's essential for a healthy growing season to follow.

God knows what's best, friends. He doesn't make it always spring for us, and that's how it should be. 

Spring is only the season of planting. And the growing process takes a lot more than just a seed—there's a lot of growing and harvesting that needs to happen too. 

All of the seasons are essential. You've got to be planted, of course, and take root and flower. You've got to become bigger and stronger, and then you have to grow fruit. And then you're harvested, and afterwards the snow heals your soil. 

And then the process begins again, every time the year goes around. Because our sanctification is never done.

Don't scorn the winter just because it's uncomfortable. You can't skip any of these seasons—trials will come, and dry spots will come, and times where it's easy and things seem to be going really well will come too. 

The one thing you're certain of is that the seasons all help you grow. Because that's what God is working in you for, and he's promised that he's never going to stop.