There is a place in Winters where I like to hike. It’s called Homestead-Blue Ridge Trail.

Last winter, when I was there, the fog was so thick that I could see nothing more than the trail in front of me. I thought of turning around, heading back to my car, and driving home, but the adventurous part of me wanted to keep going. So, I did. For at least an hour, I was in the fog, taking one step at a time, following the part of the trail that I could see.

When I got to the top, to the ridge, to my great surprise, it was crystal clear! The sun was shining! The sky was blue! And the fog — now down below — was like a sea of clouds covering the lake and the hills. I stood there for a moment to take it all in. The view was spectacular! I even thought, “I could use this in a sermon!”

Isn’t life that way at times?

A little girl who was going through a difficult time in her life visited her aunt, who lived on a small farm. They walked together and came to a particular field. The winter ground was barren and hard. The aunt looked at the little girl and, with a smile, asked her to kneel, close her eyes, and place her hands on the earth.

“Feel the life,” the aunt whispered.

The little girl did… but said, “I couldn’t feel anything.”

“Put your ear close to the earth and listen to the life,” the aunt said again.

The little girl put her head close to the earth, listened intently, and said, “I couldn’t hear anything. I couldn’t feel any life.”

The aunt then took the little girl, held her face gently between her hands, and said, “Child of my heart, it is often when the land seems most barren, cold, and dark that life underneath is quietly growing.” The aunt added, “We will return here again in the spring.”

Spring came, and they did return. As they came over the hill, the little girl ran down to see all the new life shooting up from all over the land.

And the little girl looked at her aunt and said, “You were right. You told me the truth.”

Yes, it is often when the land seems most barren, cold and hard that life is quietly growing. It is often when the land of our hearts seems most barren, cold, and hard that life within it is quietly growing. It is often when our way seems foggy, cloudy, and uncertain that a big blue sky and sunshine await us.

We just keep on going!

We just keep on living and loving! Winter, spring, summer, and fall: times of the seasons, seasons of our lives!

New possibilities and new beginnings are in them all.

God, the God of new beginnings, the God of second chances, the God of hope, our Living God IS in them all!