On Spring, Winter, Hope and Deceit...


Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
C.S Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia.

Winter is gone. The flowers are blooming. Its obviously spring, the wonderful passage to sweet sunny summer. Undeniably spring, because of the great splash of color everywhere, from the roadside flowers to the shop display windows, a burst of joy, away from the darkness and gloom of winter. The daylight stays up till late in the night savoring the new season. The shops are selling the floral dresses, the tank tops, bikinis and short shorts. But in all these, the weather remains arctic; there’s the cold, the heaters are on, and hot tea is in demand. It’s May, but the weather tries to trick you to think its January or December. But for the obvious signs of spring around, you would be deceived.
 
Beautiful flowers blossoming, reassuring that it really is spring, even if winter wouldn't let go easily.

It was spring, but I still went about in winter coats most of the days. No, it wasn’t the African in me reacting to a little cold in London. I had to double check to make sure I didn’t look silly holding a winter coat in spring, everyone went around with heavy coats. It got so cold on some days that everyone dressed in layers and heavy coats and boots. There was a headline on itv saying, ‘Spring turns to winter as snow falls in London.’ But that didn’t mean it wasn’t still spring. You don’t call the new season by the old because of a trace of the old. You still persevere as the new life is being birthed… 

I almost got sucked into the deceit of the weather. I found myself buying more warm clothes because the trace of the old season remained in the new. It took a conscious effort to make myself buy the light clothes the shops put on display. It didn’t feel right, seeing all the brightness, and the flowers splashed around, while still wrapped up in layers and holding a cup of hot tea/hot chocolate to warm myself up, knowing I was in spring. 

Sometimes, we step into the new and everything screams new, but there’s that whiff of the old still lurking around and causing us, and those around us to doubt our transition. Does that mean you keep buying winter gears because spring feels like winter? No! You don’t, because suddenly it’ll be all-warm and you wouldn’t have anything suitable to wear. I had bought the hideous, but really cozy and warm onesies because it was cold as much as it was spring, it was my in-house comfort clothing until one day, suddenly, it was so hot, and the onesie was a pain, and I had the ac on full blast… and I had need for light lounge wears and pajama sets. Finally, spring that felt like spring. 
Dreadful onesies, socks, hot chocolates and heaters... On a cold cold winter like spring night.

I went out and the sun caused me to feel faint… now that’s what we’re talking about. Its spring baybayyyy!
Don’t drop your expectation and be unprepared for your new season because it feels like the old is still coming over for dinner ever so often. I was able to catch myself midway and start buying light clothes and night wears because I realized that as much as it felt like winter, I had to make room for spring, for the new that was promised and surely was.
 
Yayyy! Sun and light clothes... Spring began to not just look like spring alone, but feel like spring as well!

When my mum was ill, at the peak of it all, when the shadow of death hung out with us, I got a clear word from God that she would be fine, nothing was wrong with her. I wondered if it was my mind telling me what it wanted to hear, but my sister heard the same thing… nothing is wrong with her. Now with that assurance, I had confidence… and the confidence increased when we saw her improve and saw the various miracles from God. We had entered a new season of recovery. Then suddenly, the same symptoms started manifesting again, right in the middle of her recovery. Wasn’t it supposed to be a season of healing? A season of the new? Fear set in, I almost started stocking up on winter gears again because spring showed symptoms of winter. It was in this circumstance that the winter spring illustration came to me, and I was encouraged. I didn’t dwell too much on what was, I didn’t want to keep praying for healing (buying warm clothing), rather, I was thankful for recovery, for the new (shopping for spring/summer), and here we are today, walking in the truth of the season… she is healed, nothing is wrong with her. Thank God!

How ready are you to accommodate your new season? Break forth!!! Make room!!! Don’t sit languishing in the mirage of the old because your faith is too small. Prepare! Sing, rejoice, can’t you see the flowers? Haven’t you noticed how long the light stays up? Haven’t you seen the shops stocked up with colors, a far cry from the gloom of winter? Break free from the limitations of the old season and boldly step into the new… if its cold, wear a cardigan, say a prayer for strength to overcome the traces of the old, so you’ll be ready when suddenly it disappears and the heat comes on.

You can’t say a woman isn’t pregnant just because her stomach is still flat. She’s entered into her pregnant season, but she still looks like a woman who isn’t pregnant, but within a few months, you would see her stomach protrude. In all that time, she begins to prepare for the new season, buying the new outfits, changing her diet and taking things easy because of what is to come... because she knows, even if it hasn't begun to show.

Sing, O childless woman,
you who have never given birth!
Break into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem,
you who have never been in labor.
For the desolate woman now has more children
than the woman who lives with her husband,”
says the lord.
“Enlarge your house; build an addition.
Spread out your home, and spare no expense!
For you will soon be bursting at the seams….”
 Isaiah 54:1-3   


 It may still look like winter even after words of prophecies have been spoken over you... but don't be deceived into discouragement and loosing your faith, believe and prepare for your spring!

Comments

  1. like this. was really blessed. there are different seasons, and season for healing when it comes no one can stop it .... please keep up the good work.

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  2. Hmmmmmmm.thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very inspiring as usual, you write beautifully.

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