Dreams of Spring

"Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day." Genesis 1:11-13

"Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so." Genesis 1:29-30

Since I have been blessed with the gardening bug, I think it should come as no surprise that God likes to talk to me through plants and gardening. Every time I plant something in the ground and watch the entire process of growing, I am completely amazed. And when I read Genesis all over again, I get excited when I get to the third day, because God created plants on the third day- He didn't wait until later on, like the fifth or sixth day, he created the vegetation straight off. Then, three days later after he'd created man, he gave them the vegetation and the seed bearing plants to do with as they please.

Here it is, December 27th, and I'm already dreaming of spring. I talk to God a lot about my garden, how I'd like it to be wonderful this year, and about how much I'm looking forward to doing my planning, and ordering seeds, and starting the seeds... the seed catalogs have started rolling in, and as I leaf through them, I compliment God on all the wondrous variety that He has created. Tomatoes come in shades of red, pink, orange, yellow, green, white, purple and black! Carrots come in orange, yellow, red, white, and purple, and various shades thereof. I love to think about the carrots, because not only are the colors an amazing variety, but with each color comes a different set of vitamins and nutrients. Only God would think to nestle powerful antioxidants into the colors of fruits and vegetables!

So as I'm looking out the window at all the snow... and as I make my way outside from day to day, ruing the cold and wishing for spring, I know that it's coming. I know that God created the seasons, and while I still don't like winter, the best part of winter is that spring is next. Spring, a time of new beginnings, and while it's winter, I can rest and plan and take care of some tasks inside that will be pushed aside once it's nice enough out. I have to think that if we didn't have winter, I wouldn't appreciate spring so much, and for that I'm thankful. God knew what he was doing, and I continue to marvel at all of His creation day in and day out.