As winter begins to fade, teasing us with the promise of spring, it’s tempting to rush ahead. The melting snow and gentle breezes hint at warmer days to come. Like clockwork, I find myself eager to jumpstart the season, already planting seeds indoors under a grow light. It’s a habit of mine, this impatience. Do you ever feel that way?

As I eagerly await the first signs of crocus and daffodils peeking through the thawing earth, I can’t help but feel restless. March always seems to stir up this impatience within me, with its mix of late winter storms and glimpses of spring. But why rush?

Seasons are a cycle God established countless eons before we appeared on earth. We should never choose to rush through an hour or a day, let alone a season. Let’s remind ourselves that each season has a purpose and needs to be savored. Every season provides opportunities for significant change, growth, and wonder.

For me, Spring symbolizes new beginnings and untapped potential. It’s synonymous with new beginnings, germination, and untapped potential. Those gray days and strong winter winds make way for green grass, surprising sprouts, and the promise of joy.

Summer can bring abundance – but it can also bring intense heat and drought. The world around us and the spirit within us require protection and nurturing for it to flourish. Despite our great temptations to relax our guard, we must remain vigilant in what we choose to do – or not to do. They don’t refer to these months as the “lazy days of summer” for nothing.

Autumn is ushered in with vibrant foliage as we reap the rewards of our labors – or not. Many of us regard the fall of our lives as a time for reflection and perhaps worry about the last (lost) seasons of our lives.

Ah, Winter! Too often, we take this season for granted, thinking our world now lies dormant, no longer capable of growth. But I have decided that this may be my favorite season. I’ve entered it with a sense of wonder. Winter, I am learning, provides me with time for reflection and rest – but, like the seeds I have planted, I also anticipate seeing exciting changes and surprising, joyful growth in unexpected ways.

Yes, I look at this season as a new lease on life, one that points me in an exhilarating new direction. After decades spent as an educator and a caregiver, I know I have the time and skills to explore new careers, challenges, and relationships.

Elisabeth Elliot inspires me at this juncture in my life: “Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait, trustfully and quietly, on HIM who has all things safely in His hands.”