Are You in a Winter Season? Look for the Harvest to Come
This article was originally published here by Institute for Faith, Work & Economics.
— by W. Scott Brown
My wife Kristin and I are members of a large garden near our home in Northern Virginia. We enjoy seeing its transformation through the seasons. In spring the garden is resplendent as tulips, daffodils and other flowers appear, and delicate cherry blossoms bloom. In summer, it is lush and verdant offering sustenance to Monarch butterflies, yellow finches, Eastern blue birds and others benefiting from its bounty. In the fall, majestic oak and maple trees take center stage with a breathtaking array of color, as the garden’s other plants fade to autumn tones.
Scripture reminds us:
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease (Gen. 8:22).
Each season is indeed remarkable. However, the season I want to focus on is winter. With everything gray and cold, winter can seem like a lost season. But it isn’t. In fact it’s vital for the garden.
The Washington Post on Feb. 9, 2017 featured an article on gardening by Adrian Higgins. Its evocative title was, “Savor the stillness of winter before all heaven breaks loose.” In it, Higgins noted the importance of winter:
Buds break into growth based on whether the parent shrub or tree has received enough of its winter chilling hours along with sufficiently warm temperatures. Because the chilling needs differ by species, spring is a progression of awakenings over several weeks.
Read the full article here:
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[ Photo by Bob Canning on Unsplash ]