When March arrived and temperatures were still plummeting into the single digits at night, I wondered if winter would ever end. Thankfully, spring is on the horizon and warmer temperatures this week have melted most of the snow and ice.

Looking back at some of my photos taken during the winter season, I’m reminded that winter can be beautiful if we look past the freezing temperatures and choose to see snow-covered landscapes, trees embellished with icy branches, and birds that add a splash of color to the whiteness of winter.  Each season truly does have its own beauty.

As the earth drinks in the last of the melting snow, I’m looking forward to the daffodils and tulips peeking their pink, yellow, and white heads out to confirm the arrival of a new season. Springtime flowers are a perfect reminder of how beautiful things can grow from barren places.

The much-anticipated arrival of the Canadian geese at the pond awakened me this morning. They are quite a rowdy bunch of visitors as they begin their mating rituals and prepare to nest by the pond. The hatching of the goslings next month will serve as another reminder that new life does indeed follow cold and dreary seasons.

When we are going through winter seasons in our personal lives, we need to remember that winter does not last forever.  We must trust God and hold fast to his faithful promises when life appears hopeless, dark, and dreary.

Spring will arrive in God’s perfect timing, and the barrenness of winter will be replaced by beauty and newness of life.

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. (Song of Songs 2: 11-12)