THE BUDS OF SPRING ARE ABOUT TO BLOOM

The first day of spring today. As I look out my window and see the absence of sunshine as the rain trickles down without ceasing I am looking desperately seeking some sign of hope amongst the trees in the garden that there is new life forming amongst the dreary gray from the bare branches that are yet to spring forth an array of shades of green. My garden has lay dormant for moths now with no sign of life , just bareness , not even the birds can find a reason to stay . From the outside there appears to have been nothing going on out there at all, but in actual fact there has been an overwhelming amount of activity from within these dormant trees , They have been drawing precious nutrients from the ground to sustain them for the warmer months, they have been growing which they cannot do while they are covered in foliage, there has been a dying off of old dead wood that no longer has a use or is able to support the weight of fresh new foliage. What i can see however is the slightest shade of green on some branches , tiny brown buds with a tinge of green at the tip that will open to luscious new green leaves and delicate pick blossoms about to spring forth on my fruit trees that will soon turn into juicy ripe apricots in summer.
How similar is our life sometimes when we have been through a very long tough winter where there has been far too much gray and dead branches with very little signs of renewing and life or sign of new foliage. How easy is it for us to walk through these times and feel a sense of hopelessness and no end in sight. This year in Melbourne they say we have had the coldest and wettest winter in 15 years .... for allot of us it feels more like a lifetime and a winter with no end when we wake up each morning to more gray with rain and a 7 day forecast that shows very little change. The reality is though that the sun is going to shine again , the days are going to get longer and the trees will soon be covered in a canopy of fresh new foliage, and God has an awesome forecast ahead for us to step into .
Same too works for us if we have spent the winter season in the palm of Gods hand being nurtured, fertilised, renewed , fed , watered, and pruned. God uses these dark gray times to renew us and bring forth new life on new branches that he has made strong enough through the winter to carry the weight of the new foliage that he wants us to carry into the next season of our lives.
15 :1-2 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
The hard part is for us to submit to the winter seasons in our life and submit to Gods pruning and shaping. God has such great things ahead for us but he needs to get rid of some dead unproductive wood in order to do that, submission can be very hard and painful for us especially if you are like me and you want a plan and a map that you yourself has approved set down before you first. But we must trust in the God who formed us, created us and knows every step of our lives and we must submit and allow him to bring us into alignment with him, even when we cant see light at the end of the tunnel we must trust that God can see the end of the tunnel and it is good.
Jeremiah 29 :11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
John 15 :5-8 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Remain in God , firmly attached to the vine and we will grow and flourish , no matter how much gray and rain we are living in right now . He promises "THE SUNSHINE WILL COME "
1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.