spiritual seasons

Growing up in Canada, winter always meant deep layers of snow, months of sub-freezing temperatures and ground that was so hard that it was impenetrable until mid-spring. So when I encountered the notion of spiritual seasons, I thought of winter as that period where your heart is metaphorically frozen and you're waiting for something to change so that you will hopefully come out of faith dormancy.

Then I moved to New Zealand and had to mentally re-work my understanding of winter when I learned that in many areas, things grow year round. In warmer climates, there are two plantings a year but where I am now in mid South Island, it's more that things grow much slower.

This past year has been pretty rough, spiritually speaking. I burnt out from being a "career Christian" and had become disillusioned with what I thought my life was meant to be. My spiritual winter consisted of distancing myself from God and neglecting the practices that had become meaningless routine. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was engaging in a "slow growing" type of winter. Days hiking up mountains nourished my soul in ways I can't articulate. Spending time in deep conversation with old friends, new friends and friends of friends, helped me to relate to God as I was in relationship with other people. And verses that I had memorized years ago - and let lay fallow in soil - came to mind from time to time, reminding me of the God I once knew and believed in deeply.

And now, as spring begins in New Zealand, I wonder if I'm coming into a spiritual spring, too. Some days are warm and I can anticipate the rapid growth of beautiful and tasty things. Other days are cold and with a bitter wind. But there's always the knowledge that no matter how long it takes and no matter how crazy the weather gets, spring is inevitable.