The Secret Wonder of Winter

                  The Secret Wonder Of Winter
Dear Friends,
        This first week of the new year someone looked at my garden  and made a remark about how it must be hard to write a garden themed blog during the winter.   I feel somewhat challenged and at the same time confident.  If you have ever read the classic novel, "The Secret Garden", you would know that the looks of a garden during the winter or one that has been left untended for a long time can be full of surprises.   The biggest problem I had today with writing this was finding the perfect picture.  The blue morning glories have been done blooming for quite a while but somehow they are perfect to go with my words today.  They seem to glow with hope and warmth. 
      The first snow that covered up my not so pretty garden didn't last very long.  Now the garden looks pretty desolate with mostly brown stems, vines and leaves.  The wrens and robins have left for warmer areas.   The sparrows use the tangled mass of leafless   honeysuckle vines to keep warm.  During the winter most of the beauty is hidden away in memories and in hope.
    With the start of the new year I am anticipating an abundance of beauty from my garden once the warm weather returns.  Fresh life will burst from the ground as soon as spring is here.  God made sure to set the cycle of life in motion.  Even though what I can see now appears less than beautiful, a lot of unseen activity is happening   The soil is building up nutrients and energy for the future.  The seeds that have dropped are resting for the right time to spring forth.  The tiny wrens will remember their home here and will return with their song in the spring. 
    If you are going through a time of loss and sorrow or other problems that try to pull you down,  remember the hope that God promises.   
Romans 12:12
"Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times."
Proverbs 23:17-18
"...always continue to fear the Lord.  You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed."
Psalm 62:5
"Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him."