“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return empty but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout… so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:10-11
winter’s wisdom:
The Hiddenness of Winter is a Preparation for Bloom
by Sarina Stokes
There is something quietly hallowing about seeing flowers cushioned beneath a blanket of snow. Although it’s mid-November and Lincoln, NE hasn’t seen its first snowfall yet, I already find myself living in the spirit of winter. The stillness that settles over the barren land, the hiddenness of growth beneath the snow, and the patient preparation required for something new to rise in April (or March, if we’re lucky) all invite me into this season.
A song that has captivated me over the past three months is Tend by Bethel. Its words have gently bent my soul toward the hands of the Masterful Gardener, Jesus Christ, giving language to the quiet dance between us as I step into winter:
“Through the winter, I’m still alive.
What you’ve planted in the dirt is ever reaching to the light.
You prepared me for darkened times.
You’ll sustain what you have spoken and you’ll teach me to abide.
So be the Gardener of my heart.
Tend the soil of my soul.”
This winter, I feel like a hidden seed lying quietly beneath the snow, preparing for the season when she will rise again. Though winter may look bleak, she is very much alive—held in silence, known only to the Gardener, as the song so beautifully says above. He has given her everything she needs: tilled soil, water, sunlight, and His living word. She gathers this sustenance in this intimate season and waits in trust for the buds that will break open in spring. She trusts all that the Gardener has given and all that He is doing in this seemingly “dead” season, learning to abide with Him in the ground.
This same wisdom is spoken by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 55:
“For as the rain and snow come down from Heaven and do not return without watering the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout…so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty but shall accomplish that which I purpose and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
These words have become the invitation of winter for me. Perhaps they can be the Lord’s invitation for all of us. How often do we find ourselves in stillness, living through what feels mundane, and feel that creeping anxiety that we must be doing something wrong? That we’re not doing enough? Or there’s a fear of being forgotten as you tuck yourself away in your own studies, or household duties, or deeper prayer with God? I’ve been asking Jesus for a season like this; to take a step back from leading small groups and teaching in order to grow more deeply in knowledge and the formation I need to be rooted and grounded in what is to come. I think years ago I would have been uncomfortable with this; thinking that I wasn’t doing enough, that my 2 hours of reading and studying a day were all in vain, or that I wasn’t loving God well. But already what I have seen in my own heart is overwhelming love for God’s people and gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit to share what I am currently learning with those placed right in front of me. Whether that be women that I direct, accompany, or my fellow peers.
Winter—winter is a season of trust; trusting the spiritual food, wisdom, and knowledge God has already poured into you, trusting that He has prepared everything for the day when spring arrives, and trusting the hidden mysteries that He is revealing to only you as you tucked away under the sparkling, white snow. .
This hiddenness feels like a mystery. There is no visible fruit, but there is the quiet assurance that His word will not return void. Every promise, every blessing, every gift sown in previous springs, summers, and autumns has prepared the seed for this particular winter. And when God’s time comes, it will prosper. It will burst forth in wild amazement and singing. It will grow and bloom, flowering among other plants and fruit-bearing trees, giving glory to the God who sustains us through the chill of winter and brings to life the word He planted in the fertile soil of our garden hearts.
Together, let us go forth in trust and peace into winter with Him. Let us put aside those temptations of “not doing enough” or the “fear of being forgotten” and abide in the hidden laboring in the garden that is known only to the Gardener; for only the Gardener knows what He has planted, all that He has spoken over His seed, and He is perfectly content with the stillness He invites you into because from it all, great fruit will come.