Spring Fever

Today is the first day of spring, a time for new beginnings. The cool weather is gone (well, it’s been gone for awhile because I live in the south, but work with me), the days are longer, and there is a freshness in the air. This is supposed to be the season of love and romance. Christmas and Valentine’s Day are over so potential partners can stop ducking each other now in hopes of not having to buy gifts for one another. True love can be pursued without those pesky, obligatory gift-giving holidays getting in the way or causing unnecessary stress and strife. I remember in the movie Bambi, all of the little animals getting excited for spring and trying to resist the urges of “twitterpation.” Nevertheless, each of them fell, one by one, hopelessly in love with a creature of the fairer sex--even the skunk. It is season in which people start to feel hopeful that broken hearts will be healed and empty hearts will be filled. It is a season of renewal.

But what happens if this season fails to meet expectations? Last spring, I was in a pretty good place. I had just finished a huge event with rave reviews and I was settling in to my spring break. I had done my spring cleaning, and then, the phone rang. It was my ex wanting to know if he could come by for a visit. We hadn’t really talked in almost a year prior to that, but since he was down the street, I thought, “Why not? Maybe this is it. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe he finally realizes that his life is better with me rather than without me.” Well, since we all know I am still single, it should be clear that is not what happened. In fact, what did happen was the unexpected closure of that little piece of my heart that still wanted the relationship. It was a little piece of my heart that I didn’t even know still existed until he called. I thought I was about to get the beginning of my happy ending. It was spring for goodness sakes! There was a new beginning, though, a beginning where I was free from old feelings and holding on to a relationship that was not what God had planned for me.

The good news is that my faith is not in a season. I am still hopeful that my heart can heal from any wound and that any empty spaces there will be filled because I know that God alone can heal and fill. He is the Father of seasons, not just winter spring, summer and fall, but all of the seasons of our lives. He has ordained the trials and the triumphs. So, rather than throw myself at someone for the sake of not being alone, I want to be so full of Christ that I can’t help but pour love out on others. Do I still get lonely? You bet. I am not a robot; I am a real, flesh and blood, woman. However, I know that I am never alone and I know that the new seasons in my life are not associated with a date that man can predict; they are set by the Father of time. He is never late. He can never fail. He is always in season. Ms. EV