a changing landscape

As we walked our gravel road the wind brushed my face on its way past. 

It greeted me with a chilly hello and let me know that it would be staying a while. 

The dust of my road seemed somber and lonely in spite of the children that ran upon it. 

The landscape that was once lush and green, bursting with wild flowers and crop, is now brown, barren and desolate feeling. There were no fields of waving grain or flowers to decorate the table. There was just freshly plowed dirt, burned ditches and grass that was ready for its snowy white covering that would soon be there. 

As I rounded the corner back into my driveway, I looked upon my winterized garden. Once bursting with produce, almost too much for this city-girl-trying-to-be-green-thumb to handle, I had to smile at the still small voice of the Holy Spirit stirring within me.

Life is like my changing landscape. There are seasons of plenty and seasons of joy. Seasons of health and seasons of prosperity. Those seasons are peppered with very visible blessing: the wildflowers of life, the fields ripe with produce. Babies are born, marathons are run, marriages are happy, jobs are rewarding.

And then, the landscape changes. Winter blows its snowy garment upon the earth, the flowers fade, the crop is harvested and fields are prepared for the next growing season. The wind beats and blows against the house, challenging its security and trying to get in. The beauty of life is more difficult to see.

The job market plummets. Depression ravages a marriage. The diagnosis is not good. Death comes early.

It is easy to enjoy the lovely summer months. Months of flip flops and sunscreen. Rushing out the door requires nothing more than a set of keys and a pair of shoes. The days are long, the sun is bright and the flowers declare the handiwork of God. Friends and gatherings are plentiful and our skin bears a healthy glow.

As I walked my road and allowed my heart to wander in the presence of God, I missed the sunshine but knew I wouldn't appreciate it if I didn't know life without it. The beauty of the flowers would not have the meaning they do if it weren't for these barren lands void of all their beauty.

As winter comes, I prepare my garden for the cold and snow. I prune down my raspberries, cut the asparagus and lay a warm covering of straw over it all. I tuck my strawberry plants in for the winter and remind them that I will be eager to greet them when spring blows warmth across the land. That day will come, that I know, but winter must come first. For now, the covering I have made will keep them warm and preserve them for the days of bloom that lie ahead.

'For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble;

He will conceal me under the cover of His tent;

He will life me high upon a rock.'

Psalm 27:5

'He will cover you with His pinions,

and under His wings you will find refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and a buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.'

Psalm 91:4-6

Through the seasons of cancer treatments, medical bills and fear of the unknown, God will spread His covering over His Beloved. 

Through the seasons of joy and the season of tears, He will cover you.

Through the seasons of plenty and the seasons of need, through the seasons of companionship and the seasons of loneliness, He will cover me like a garment. 

For everything under heaven there is a season. There is a 'time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to pluck; a time to kill and a time to heal...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance..." (Ecclesiastes 3: 2-4)

As the landscape of life changes, the dancing ceases and the laughter fades, He is present. 

As the laughter rolls and the crop flourishes, He is present. 

As winter sets in bringing with it snow, wind and desolation, I pray that your eyes will set themselves upon the God of the Seasons knowing that God will deliver springtime in all its beauty and life not a moment too late nor a moment too soon. He is in the cold, biting wind of winter and He is in the warmth of the summer time sun. 

Come, take refuge. 

Allow Him to spread His garment over you as the cold of winter sets in knowing that although He will not allow the winter to pass by, 

He will keep you...

He will cover you...

He will sustain you. 

And soon, the sun will shine again, the flowers will bloom and your feet will dance. 

covered.

tiffany