Seasons of Nature and Spiritual Growth: Spring 🌱
As the days grow steadily longer and the temperatures begin to rise, I feel a sense of excitement and anticipation for the arrival of spring. After a long and cold winter, I am ready for a season of renewal and growth.
In my own life, springtime has always been a time of personal growth and transformation. It is a time when I feel inspired to set new goals and make positive changes in my life (even more so than at the start of the calendar year).
On my burnout recovery journey, it was in the spring of 2021 that I turned my focus to rebuilding my physical health. I started going for walks in the park, taking in the fresh air and beautiful scenery. I also began to make healthier choices in my diet, cutting out processed foods (just because the food is "vegan" doesn't make it healthy), and incorporating more salads and fresh fruits into my meals.
As I began to see the physical benefits of my new lifestyle, I also noticed a shift in my mental and emotional well-being. I felt more energized and optimistic, and I found that my stress levels were decreased.
But it wasn't just my physical health that was improving. As I spent more time outside in nature, I began to feel more connected to the world around me, to our Creator. I started to appreciate the small moments of beauty and wonder in creation that I had previously overlooked, like the way the sun sparkled on a nearby pond or the sound of birds singing in the trees.
I also began to focus more on my spiritual growth during that spring season. I spent time praying, meditating, and reflecting on my values and beliefs, and I found that this helped me to gain a deeper understanding of God, myself, and my place in the world.
Looking back on that spring, I realize how much I grew and changed during that season of renewal and growth.
During that season, I learned the importance of taking care of my physical, mental, and spiritual health, and I gained a greater appreciation for the beauty and wonder of the natural world.
Spring in nature is marked as a time of cleansing and restoration from the difficult days of winter. It is a time of transition, a time of pruning and re-growth.
Here are some of my favorite ways to mindfully rest in springtime:
Prioritize sleep by using blackout curtains in the bedroom. Longer periods of daylight can interfere with the production of melatonin, making it difficult to sleep.
Take a walk outdoors to soak up some vitamin D.
Meet a friend for coffee.
Dig in the dirt and plant seeds in your garden.
As the spring season has come once again, I am filled with a sense of excitement and anticipation for the growth and transformation that lies ahead. I look forward to embracing this season of renewal and making positive changes in my life once again.
Spring in spiritual growth represents a time of joy and glory after dormancy and hardships. It is a time of pruning, when God shapes and molds his people.
Spring is an invitation to grow, to be made new, and to be reborn. You have to be in communication with Him to be able to know His heart for you in this season. In other words, you need to be watered.
Journaling is a great discipline to keep track of what God is saying to you. I love taking voice notes whenever possible to remember more clearly what God is telling me. My journal becomes a place I can go back to over and over again when I need to be encouraged.
You might also consider Visio Divina , meaning "divine seeing". It is one of my favorite centering prayer practices to encounter God, through art- a prayerful consideration of and interaction with a photograph, piece of art, or other visual representation that allows the viewer to experience the Divine in a unique and powerful way. Bette Dickinson is one of my favorite creative prayer warriors I am constantly in awe of.
However you choose to seek God's watering this spring, remember that every season has gifts and challenges and that growing into the people God made us to be is a journey, not a race to the finish. Don't try to hurry the season you're in. Experience it. Rest in it. And above all, listen for God's still small voice to guide you through.
What is God wanting to prune from you to make room for new growth? And what (potentially new) spiritual disciplines are you practicing to hear His answer?
In Him
Jennifer, Founder & Champion of Rest
“Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.”
