Even the winter won't last forever

It is spring, people! Hallelujah. Kids are flying kites, it rains every other day, and we are taking chilly evening walks and playing at the park. Everyone in my house is glad about it. Especially these 2.

This is Addie's semi-nervous smile :)

Note: if you look closely you can spot a giant snot bubble. This girl has been dripping out of her nose for months!

One of my favorite songs this winter has been "Even the Winter," by Audrey Assad.

She sings - 

What if we find ourselves beneath the snow, our warmest words all frozen in our throats
And all we feel is left out in the cold, You and I?

What if the days grow short and lose their light? What if the coals burn black and the embers die?
And we can't find each other in the night? You and I
Do you ever feel like that? 

trapped beneath the snow

speechless, the words frozen in your throat

left out in the cold

darkness surrounds you when the days are short...

lost.

without hope. 

alone. 

It's winter. 

Some people even suffer from a depression related to winter - seasonal affective disorder, ironically abbreviated SAD. One solution would be to move to California, or Florida. Where it rarely dips below 50 and the sun is always shining. 

OR 

you could dig a little deeper, find something, or perhaps Someone, to hope in and know that spring is coming... 

Even the winter won't last forever
We'll see the morning, we'll feel the sun
We'll wake up in April, ready and able
Holding the seeds in the soil of our love

I have played this song countless times this winter, and every time I hear this line, I turn it up a little bit louder, and start singing. (Addie: "no mama sing. just the lady sing.") 

We'll wake up in April, ready and able.

It fills me with hope! Spring is coming. Your winter won't last forever.

And, guess what? 

It's April.

Spring is here, and the winter didn't last forever. (Unless you're in Boston, then you'll have to sing "We'll wake up in June, ready and able" ... which doesn't quite have the same ring... ) 

I love that she doesn't pull any punches. No fake it till you make it. No pretending, or putting on a smile. Because sometimes life feels too dark for pretending and putting on a smile. 

What if the ice we tread is just too thin? What if we can't escape the squall we're in?
What if our hearts of stone are permanent? You and I

But they're not... 

Even the winter won't last forever
We'll see the morning, we'll feel the sun
We'll wake up in April, ready and able
Holding the seeds in the soil of our love

This last part gets me every time. 

What if the spring comes soon, and we're surprised?
What if the seasons help us realize, some things are only proven over time? 

You know

Are you ever surprised by spring? 

Like, you know it's coming, and it still catches you off guard. 

By March, I've had it. Every single March we get some sort of taste of spring and then it plunges back into winter, and I swear I'll move to California. (As do most of my midwestern friends and readers I'm certain.) 

And almost like magic, April comes. the birds wake you up in the morning. Pink flowers start blooming on your trees. The days get a little longer. You finally feel safe putting away your knee length down parka and maybe even pulling out some open-toed shoes. You turn off your central heat, open the windows, and breathe a sigh of relief. 

Winter is over. 

Spring is here. 

It happens every year, and yet, in a way, it still seems surprising. 

(This is the point at which I declare I would never leave the midwest because I love the seasons.) 

And we remember - seasons change. 

Winter comes, but it doesn't last forever. Spring is on the other side.  

She ends the song singing...

Even the darkness cannot disarm us

We'll see the morning, we'll feel the sun
We'll break up the earth, 'cause we know that it's worth it
Sowing the seeds in the soil of our love

Sow the seeds of hope in soil of love, my friend. 

Winter is over. 

Spring is here.

Wake up! It's April. 

You are ready and able.