Spring: The Season of Courage
Victoria Battell
Spring seems to finally be upon us. After some beautiful days at the end of March we were hit with snow and a cold snap! Some of the flower buds which had courageously begun to spring forth were caught by the return of frost. But the fear of the cold will not stop spring coming with its beauty and promise. Spring is a courageous season.
In our lives, we can often feel afraid to spring forth after a difficult trial or when new opportunities come our way—what if I get hurt again? What if I can’t trust this person? What if I don’t do well at College or in my job? What if it doesn’t work out? What if it isn’t like I thought it would be? The fear of failure can keep us locked in a perpetual winter and prevent new life from forming in our lives. Spring teaches us that good will always come if we act with patience and courage, to take opportunities when they present themselves. As C. S. Lewis put it in one of his letters:
“Think of yourself just as a seed patiently waiting in the earth: waiting to come up to a flower in the Gardener’s good time…We are here in the land of dreams. But cock-crow is coming.”
Spring comes every year to remind us that hope always follows a time of difficulty or a time when nothing seems to be happening or going right. Sometimes that hope is as tiny as a seed waiting in the cold soil of winter; sometimes it is a small bud ready to flower when the sun calls. However you are feeling as winter says goodbye, remember to look forward towards the sun so the shadows fall behind you.
Take the coming of spring as a chance to reaffirm what you hope for, to look to the future, to plan something new for your life, and to have the courage to move forward!