The hydrangeas in my front yard have bloomed bright white over the past few weeks, but they did not turn all at once. Even now, as I flip the calendar page to July and my children splash in a plastic kiddie pool, a few straggling flowers remain green, not yet ready to embrace the summertime.
This April marked three years since we moved from Florida to Michigan. We traded the Land of Perpetual Summer in exchange for a carousel of seasons, an ever-changing landscape at the mercy of the lake effect. In that time, I’ve learned there is no smooth transition from one season to the next. Each arrives in fits and starts, like a game of Red-Light-Green-Light. In the spring, the snow melts away entirely, only for the puddles to become a slick layer of ice across our sidewalks overnight. In the summer, I always keep a sweater nearby because I never know when the evening temperature will drop or a gray day will leave me wishing for the sun. I’ve learned to look ahead to what may come in the in-between days of the seasons.
I grew up in a church where the word “backslide” was thrown around a lot. My childhood pastor often shared about a sin he once struggled with and then proclaimed, “I have never backslidden — not once in thirty years!” His story of deliverance and transformation was dramatic and complete; it showed us that victory over sin was possible.
Yet I often compared this to my own life and felt discouraged. I believed in Jesus, but I woke up with the same pride and fear I felt yesterday. What was I doing wrong? I wondered if I lived in a perpetual state of backsliding, and to compensate, I attempted to white-knuckle my way to transformation.
Jesus’ earliest followers must have felt similarly in the dark and painful gap between His death and resurrection. Mary Magdalene’s tears hint at their grief, Thomas’ doubts reveal their growing cynicism, and Joseph of Arimathea’s secrecy hints at their fear. They had to wonder if the past three years had been wasted. What did we do wrong here? Is Jesus who He said He was? They didn’t yet have proof of resurrection; they couldn’t see clearly in hindsight yet.
During the summer following my sophomore year of college, I had back surgery to correct my ever-worsening scoliosis. Like most university students, I imagined summers spent studying abroad, tackling internships, or road tripping with friends, but I was stuck on my parents’ couch. I watched hours and hours of the Food Network. Holding a book in my hands was too painful, but pain medication made my brain too fuzzy for an audiobook. Eventually, I got up from the couch, but I didn’t feel normal again for almost a year.
Looking back, I know the time wasn’t wasted. It was then I decided to switch my major from journalism to elementary education, and I reconnected with the man who would become my husband. My life might have looked different without that period of waiting, stillness, and pain.
It wouldn’t be my last season of waiting for resurrection. After my second son was born, I fell into the confusing darkness of postpartum depression. It took a solid twelve months before I recognized what was happening. And while I know this isn’t true for everyone experiencing mental illness, I look back on that time as a period of communion with Jesus. His presence didn’t relieve my pain or cure my depression, but I never felt alone. The depression has lifted since then, but that knowledge has continued to be a balm for my battle-weary soul.
Anticipating the seasons to come helps me better savor my current reality. I never want to grow immune to the gradually shifting seasons because they teach me God is always moving. Just yesterday, our local strawberry patch announced they were out of u-pick berries for the season. I scrolled past the post and thought, “That went fast.”
Here in Michigan, checking the weather is the first thing I do after climbing out of bed each morning. It has become a spiritual discipline of sorts, teaching me that no matter how long winter lasts or how quickly summer fades, resurrection is always on its way — one day, sooner or later, and without a doubt.
Leave a Comment
Sara says
Lindsey, what a beautiful reminder my heart needed this morning. Reflecting on some hard times in effort to move forward, your words remind me that He is with me always, and I am never alone.
Lindsey says
I am so with you, Sara! Reflecting on hard times is not an easy thing to do but so necessary for our growth and healing, and YES, Jesus is always with us in the process. <3 Thanks for reading and commenting!!
Agnes says
Thank you for this!! So needed – I’m in a transition time now where the past is behind me and I don’t know if there will be a resurrection or a whole new story. Jesus is the only constant and never leaves or forsakes us!
Lindsey says
Thank you for reading, Agnes! I am saying a prayer for your transition this morning. Sometimes it helps me to remember that “resurrection” doesn’t always look like I think it will look. But you’re so right–Jesus is with you! Praying he gives you comfort, peace, and courage.
Courtney says
I loved this! Thank you for this reminder.
Lindsey says
Thank you for reading, Courtney! I’m so glad it resonated with you.
Lynne M says
Lindsey – thank you for this very timely post. I am 5 weeks post op from a spinal fusion and still struggling with a lot of pain and limited mobility. I am trying to focus on God and His plans but my brain keeps questioning Him and why I’m not further along in my healing. I know He knows best but I am so frustrated. I would appreciate prayer for patience and trust.
Thank you – this is a wonderful community.
Jas says
Lynne M, lifting you up in prayer. Lord please take Lynne in your arms and continue to heal her body. Make your presence known through your comfort, please ease her pain. You are a faithful God and I pray you will keep Lynne close in her spiritual walk with you. I ask these things in Jesus Name, Amen.
Lindsey says
Hi Lynne! I am thanking Jesus that this post was so timely for you! I hadn’t even thought to expect that someone who just had spinal fusion might read.
Lynne, that recovery is NO joke. It was much more difficult than I expected. My mobility was still pretty limited a few months out, and I’d say it took a full year before I felt 100% back to normal. But now it’s been 10 years and I am still pain and issue free!
I am praying for you today and in the weeks to come. Please feel free to reach out if I can pray for anything specifically or if you’d like to talk more.