Spring has sprung...

Today was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day.  Just gorgeous!  The cherry blossoms have sprung to life...the trees in the back garden at school have bloomed with bright green leaves...the birds were chirping...the sky was clear with the exception of a few perfectly placed white puffy clouds.  I've never loved spring so much.  Probably because I've never lived through winter.  And probably because I've never experienced spring so vividly in all its wonderfulness.  It literally arrived overnight last weekend.  I think a beautiful spring is God's way of rewarding those who survived a rough winter.

As I was riding the school bus down the mountain this afternoon (Side note...this isn't just any old school bus.  This is like a coach bus you would take on a long journey...complete with comfy seats, air conditioning like airplanes etc...for a 20 minute ride.  It's fabulous.) So...as I was riding down from school and trying my hardest not to fall asleep (I was unsuccessful.)...I was looking out over Trieste and the Adriatic Sea and admiring how one week of spring has managed to change the entire landscape.  What has been dead, brown and boring for the past 4+ months once again looks fresh with life and beauty.  I realized that spring isn't just a reward...but also a reminder.  A reminder that God is in the process of making all things new.  That His mercies are new each morning.  That He remains the same throughout storms and trials.  That even through the toughest parts of life...there is hope...there is beauty...there is dawn of newness...there is God, the same yesterday, today and forever.

I feel like the trees in the back garden.  The ones that lost their leaves and were pruned back to seemingly nothing during the winter.  The Bora blew nearly knocking them over...the snow weighed heavy on their limbs...their color and beauty were stripped away...but despite the storms, they stood strong.  And now that the storms have passed and winter has gone away...they are starting to burst to life again.  Stronger, brighter and more beautiful than I remember.  Like the trees...I've had a rough winter.  Not just physically...although the Bora did blow me into a few buildings and one parked car and a headband or two suffered casualty and my feet did freeze from the lack of proper winter shoes.  But also just in life.  Strained friendships...lack of friendships...stress at work...home sickness...loneliness...defeat...wondering why God opened these doors leading to Trieste in the first place...seeking to find my place here.  A rough winter to say the least.  But with God as my Rock and my foundation I have lived through this storm...and am stronger this side of it.  This winter, the Lord pruned back all of the "extras" in my life...the things that I put my identity in.  Friends.  Family.  Success.  Image.  All of it.  Until all I had left was Him.  Which, I know in my heart is all I need...but isn't always what I live out.  This winter brought some tough lessons...in patience, trust, love, kindness, faith.  I've been stretched, challenged, blown over and whipped back into shape.  And now that my winter has passed, like the trees in the back garden...I am facing this side of the storm stronger and brighter than before.  More in love with my Savior...more excited to share Jesus with those around me...more grounded in the character that God is developing in me.

Now it is time to grow, to blossom, to shine...until the next storm comes.

So hello, spring.  It is so good to see you.