No, it isn’t the winter solstice, when the days presumably start getting longer. 🙂
For me, the first sign of spring is the flurry of seed catalogs that start showing up in my mailbox, it seems to me, around December 26. I haven’t even achieved novice status as a gardener, but I have a penchant for growing things, and when those catalogs begin to turn up, I pour over them, drinking in the plush roses, the gorgeous peonies, the dramatic dahlias, the multi-colored ears of corn, the shiny purple eggplants, and I dream of summer, when my yard comes alive with color and fragrance. In fact, I don’t even have to visualize summer: I delight myself with mind-pictures of the first crocuses and daffodils and those show-offs, the tulips. Both in my imagination and in reality, I am awed by flowers–by plump tomatoes–by pumpkins and spaghetti squash. What an amazing world God has created–where a handful of seeds can produce, in mere weeks, towering sunflowers that bob their bright yellow heads in the passing breeze, where a single apple contains the beginnings of an orchard!
As I write this, snow is falling. And that is beautiful, too. Last year was dry in our area; wells were low and fire was a constant danger. Snow is a gift; it will melt into the ground, when the time is right, and add significantly to the underground water supply. Everything is a blessing.
Are any of you working on your 40-Day Miracle? I’m on Day 48, and I’m so glad I discovered this process, this journey.
Here’s the thing you need to know about miracles. They can be very simple and small–a reminder, an insight, an idea, a chance meeting with a friend. I don’t know about you, but in the past, I’ve made the mistake of thinking a genuine miracle had to be something BIG, preferably with fireworks and a booming orchestral score and a cast of thousands. 🙂
Wrong-o. The best miracles are the ones that change you, on the inside. That’s where the rubber meets the road, my friends, on the inside. Just as 8-foot sunflowers come from small seeds, seriously major miracles grow from simple choices and quiet decisions.
Think about it.
About Linda
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West.
Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a horse property outside Spokane.
