While walking the dog last week, I was surprised, delighted, and then saddened to see wild strawberries blooming. On a south-facing bank along the road five white blossoms turned their faces to the December sun. In late November we had a few amazingly warm days. Those days must have warmed the clay of the bank enough to fool the plants into blooming.
It was a delight to see the delicate flowers amidst the strands of dead grass and fallen leaves. But the false spring that brought the unseasonal blooms is cruel. Everything froze last night. There are no flowers, and no hope of sweet fruit.
Too much of life is this way. Many hopes are out of season, doomed to bear no fruit. Dream jobs turn to nightmares. Some dream relationships turn into hard work, compromise, or worse.
Church folk feel the presence of God in a service and wonder, “Is this it? Is this when God moves powerfully and people are transformed and the community touched by God’s love?” The next Sunday the frost sets in and people are freeze-dried in the same religious routine.
Parents praying for wayward children look for signs of return—a change of heart. Many signs are winter flowers. But the cold drives the roots deeper. And even the untimely blooms promise spring will come. Though our lives are filled with winter flowers, an eternal spring is coming. There is a hope that does not disappoint.
