Winter Will End

Last night as I was lying under a pool of blankets in bed staring at the weekly weather forecast, I thought, "Spring will never come. Winter will never end."

I knew it was a lie. Even after the intense snowfall today, I know it's a lie. Spring will come. Winter will end. But I still struggle to believe it.

A few weeks ago, I was standing in the Starbucks drive-thru window. The north wind was blowing into the store. I had my fleece jacket on and my matching black gloves with the heater blowing, but I was still freezing. Throughout the morning, I didn't thaw. I was still freezing.

I turned to a co-worker and asked, "Do you ever buy into the lie while you're at the window that you will never ever be warm again?"

She laughed, and said, "No! I'm pregnant so I'm never cold. I could stand over there without a jacket and be perfectly fine."

Although she didn't feel my struggle, I still could recognize that my thought was a lie. I left work that day and returned to my cozy apartment; I finally returned to my preferred temperature. The cold ended. Winter will end.

I know winter will end. Every year of my life, winter has ended. Experience confirms the truth. But in the middle of the coldest days at the drive-thru window and elsewhere, I struggle to believe the truth.

There's another winter too. It's not the physical cold. It's the cold and brokenness of the world. It's the environment of Narnia from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe where "It's always winter but never Christmas" (C. S. Lewis). It's when the world becomes ugly and things die or become dormant. 

This week has had plenty of ugly moments -- moments of realizing that the world is broken, that life is hard, that relationships are difficult. It's its own type of winter. 

And I find myself thinking, "Spring will never come. This will never change." These difficult things will never end. This broken world will never be restored. These problems will never resolve. These people will never change. This will never change. 

But I know that's a lie. I know that God is bringing a spring. I know that Jesus is returning to restore the world. I know God is capable of changing people through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I know that these hard things can change. I know that God is still good in the midst of brokenness. 

But sometimes it's hard to remember. Yesterday, when it was hard to remember, I turned on "Wash Me Clean" by Page CXVI to ingrain the truth of coming redemption into my mind. 

In these days

Barren field will sprout trees

The deaf and blind will hear and see

The dead will raise and begin to breathe

The dead will raise and begin to breathe

The earth will grown in pain to see

The sons of God declare to be

His full and glorious family

The beautiful, perfect bride of Thee

In these days. In these days. Spring is coming. Redemption is in Jesus, and all of the things that have brought about a winter in my world this week, are things that he can redeem. He has redeemed so much; experience tells me that he is powerful enough to redeem the hard things from this week too. Experience and his Word confirms that truth.

Winter will end. It will. God is that good.

What "winter" things do you need to remember will end? What trees do you need to remember will sprout from barren fields?