It started two weeks ago. Little green sprouts poking up through the frozen, barren ground. Ground that, thanks to a winter of record-breaking cold, was so hard just a month ago that not even my shovel made a dent in it. So you can imagine my delight when I spotted those bits of green pushing their way through that same, dead earth. I checked them every day, watching and waiting. Because I knew what was coming. And sure enough, last week those hardy green shoots boasted buds. With unseasonable frosts in the forecast, I worried they wouldn’t make it. But hallelujah! Not only did they survive, but this week they exploded in beautiful blossoms. Now, instead of empty ground, crocuses and miniature irises paint my yard with purple and yellow. And today, the daffodils and jonquils joined in, bringing a smile to my face and heart with the news:

Spring is here!

Funny, but every year I go through the same thing. Winter hits, it’s cold and dark and, at times, depressing. It feels as though it’s going to last forever. The skies are dark and overcast and it’s as dark at midday as it is at night and we will never see the sun again!

Until the day we do. And all the depression and darkness…

Melts away.

It occurred to me today that we, as writers, go through similar struggles in our writing. There are those golden days when the imagination is on fire, ideas come faster than we can corral them, and we’re convinced we can do this gig for as many days as the Lord grants us life. And then, BAM! Creativity dries up. The warm of words turns cold and every sentence is a battle. Our efforts to refresh or restore fall flat. Our minds feel fogged in, overcast, and unbearably dark. And we’re so painfully aware that we will

Never.

Write.

Again.

Until the day we do.

Spring returns again, as it does every time, and God breathes a story into our frozen minds and the mental, emotional, or physical prison doors fly open, and we’re FREE!

We’ve all experienced them, these seasons of a creative life. There are the summers of glorious words pouring from your fingers… times of autumn rest, when you need to set aside the pen or keyboard and just let life happen…the dreaded but unavoidable frozen wastelands of winter dormancy, when it seems your stories are encased in unyielding ice… and joyous spring creativity, where stories blossom everywhere you turn. And we all can know and be comforted that, as happens with the earth, each season serves a purpose. And each season will last as long as God deems necessary. No matter what season you’re in right now, know this:

God is present, at work in your and your words. Don’t fret. Don’t grasp or fear. Rest in Him. Savor whatever season you’re in. And Spring comes to you, when the flowers poke through and the blossoms burst forth, let yourself do what I’m doing today:

REJOICE.

The winter is past. Spring is finally here. Rebirth has come again.

Hallelujah!