Hello friends! Time has gotten away from me, and sadly this page got dropped in the new surge of busyness. (I’m not used to having so much going on after the last year.) Despite my lack of writing, time has continued to pass quickly, and this week I noticed a rather obvious sign of that.

I took this picture of a tree with a church in the background during one of my walks around the city walls recently. I was delighted to see the wee buds and some new signs of life. My last post was about the signs of hope that come with Spring, the new life and growth and beauty. This tree was another of those, and I snapped a quick photo as I passed.

I took the Monday after Easter off, so this past Monday was my next trip around the walls, and while I didn’t remember the above photo right away, I stopped to take another picture of this tree…

Only two weeks had passed between those photos, but it looks like a completely different tree! As I looked at the photos later, I was struck by how quickly things can change. I began thinking about the events we reflected on and celebrated during the Easter weekend between these pictures, and I marveled at how quickly and dramatically things changed during just three days. Then I thought of the many stories in the Bible where God showed up or spoke a word, and situations changed in mere moments.

There are a few circumstances in my life where I am waiting to see a change. Some days, it feels like that change won’t come. After months (or in some cases years) of waiting, it can be easy to lose faith that Spring will come and bring the life and growth and beauty I long for. But other days, I see how quickly Spring can come and completely transform the landscape and circumstances around us. The wait may seem long, but it’s worth it when you round the corner and see the beauty that has grown seemingly overnight.

I’m not sure what your situation is today. Maybe the landscape around you seems dead and winter is lingering forever. Perhaps you are seeing the tiny buds of hope beginning to peek out. Maybe you are rejoicing in the fullness of life that comes with new seasons. Wherever you are, I pray that God meets you with new hope, expectancy and the promise of growth, life and beauty He brings to every season we face.