There’s something about spring that makes me begin to reflect. After the cold, dark, rainy winter, it’s beyond refreshing to see flowers and trees start to bloom. (And after a couple of years of allergy shots, I can actually enjoy the beauty and breathe at the same time, which is a bonus.) There is something about this new life springing up that brings new life to my soul too.
Back in the sunshine.
Between the increased temperatures and an extra hour of daylight, our kids are coming out after school more now, riding bikes and playing basketball. If I time it right, I run my on-campus errands between 3:30 and 5:00, and it’s almost guaranteed that I’ll be greeted with sweet faces and happy smiles, as our kids venture out to play or walk their cottage dogs. As I see them out, I think about the contrast of winter and spring. Dark and light. The hope of new life blooming from the hard ground.
It’s no secret that our children in foster care, whether it’s on campus residentially or part of community foster care, come from difficult places and endure trauma from their past. We work hard to provide a sanctuary of healing for them as they work through their hard stuff. But what people sometimes forget is that there is hope. There is hope for these children, that their families can get the help they need to grow and bloom and come to a place of stability.
In most cases, biological families truly love their children and desire to be stable and responsible for their kids. They want to be that sanctuary. But right now, they can’t. Right now they are stuck in the hard, cold winter. And many times, this winter is a byproduct of a childhood that was pretty cold and hard for them a generation before. And possibly even a generation before that. Sometimes it seems like the winter will never end.
The way of God.
But our greatest hope is to see our children reunited with their biological families. That someday soon, they will get a spring of their own. We pray that in their homes and with their families, our children will get the beautiful experience of watching God bring dead things back to life.
Holding fast.
When hope seems lost and we’re stuck in the dead of winter, clouds obscuring the sun and shivering from the frigid cold, God sweeps in and brings the spring. He brings light to the darkness, warmth to the cold. He breaks through the merciless, hard ground and springs up hope and goodness and unconditional love.
I don’t know what winter you may be walking through right now, but this I know – God is faithful. And you can believe that the spring is coming. It doesn’t always look like we imagined, but it always comes. It will come for our kids. And it will come for you. Spring always follows the winter.
See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come.
Song of Songs 2:11-12
If you would like to learn more about foster care and help bring hope to our children, please check out our events page for more details on upcoming foster care classes.
