On Ugly Season
You’ll want to read all the way to the bottom on this one, friend! I’m giving away tickets to an inspiring movie about hope, miracles and motherhood!
You may have heard me share this before, but fifteen years ago this month I interviewed for a job in a part of Canada I’d never visited, 5,000 km or so from my home on Vancouver Island. I had no idea what I was in for, really, but after I was offered the job I knew in my spirit I was supposed to take it. I had just left the incredible organization I'd spent five years with in Latin America & Georgia (in case you're wondering, it was Operation Mobilization), and had moved all my worldly possessions back home to Nanaimo where I was 100% sure I was going to land. But, I was wrong, and God led me to move thousands of kilometres away from home, yet again.
I'd lived on a ship and in three countries, but I was moving to a part of Canada that, as I understood it, was: 1. basically a big city, 2. snow and politicians (Sorry, Ontario. I have repented of my ignorance). It may as well have been another country, honestly, and I was a fair-weather sort of girl. Mid-July in Georgia – I was just fine. August in Mexico? Bring it on. I was not prepared AT ALL for Ontario winters. Y'all, even after fifteen years, I AM CONVINCED I AM GOING TO DIE every January & February and wonder why I'm being punished with weather that makes my skin crack and bleed.
And, every single year, I remember that Ontario has not four, but five seasons...
In this land of long winters and snow, there is this strange “Ugly Season” falling somewhere between the dead of winter and spring. It hits right about now.
The snow melts and a layer of dirt and grime seem to cover absolutely everything. For real, the street cleaners motor so often past my office windows that I would recognize the sound anywhere. The dirt is everywhere. Somehow, it even gets in our windowsills. It is EVERYWHERE - and it’s even worse now that I have a kiddo walking through it in rainboots and snowboots (depending on the day’s temperature). Last week, on a walk, we actually discovered a massive pile of it beside our neighbourhood duck pond. Ugh.I still have no idea where all the dirt comes from – but it’s there, and it’s everywhere – and on the muddy grey landscape with a depressing lack of green signs of life, it’s flat-out ugly (my rainforest-born & raised heart is NOT impressed with this). Can you tell I'm grouchy about it? I'm working on my attitude, friends.The good news is, normally, Ugly Season is pretty short & quickly forgotten. Just a few weeks between the snow melt of mid-March and mid-April when trees start to bud and plant shoots start to pop out of the earth. Those ever-present street cleaners suck up the dirt, like it never even happened, and we start a new season fresh. And, if you know me, you know this is when I plant pansies.Here’s the thing: Ugly Season is a reality. We all know it. Our lives, not just our climates or ecosystems, seem to have Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, and here and there a season of Ugly that feels like it doesn’t belong. A joy-killer. A hope-sucker. A bad joke. The unexpected dirt that just seems to appear.And yet, there is hope.Right beside where I park my car at work every day, there is a tiny, faithful patch of snowdrops that bursts through dirt-crusted grass every single year. For six years now, they've greeted me in the ugly season. They are randomly placed. Bravely blooming in the ugly. The first year, they were a total surprise. A gift. Now, I look for them every year as a sign of grace & hope. Grace that I need to remind me of the hope of Spring.
There are other beautiful things in any Ugly Season – if you choose to find them.
Last week, I comforted my weeping little girl on our drive to school. She was so sad, and when I asked her why, she told me that she was SURE that Spring and Summer would never come because there was still ice on the ground (Also part of the Ontario Spring reality. Whatever, man). Even I sometimes forget, even though I know it's on its way, because I've got four decades of evidence that Spring always follows Winter, and that Summer always follows right behind, faithfully. But sometimes? We just need someone else to give us a hug, some perspective and remind us that this isn't forever.It's easy to believe that, even when we see those snowdrops, we're going to be stuck in our Ugly Season till the end of time, isn't it? Let me tell you though, friend - and I'm preaching to myself, too - this is just a season. As my Mama would say, "this too shall pass." I've got friends walking through full-on ugly season mud right now, and in the midst of it, I know it's hard to believe that you'll ever be able to lift your feet out of that muck. I get it. I really do. The truth is - and we must tell ourselves this - the season may be long, but it's just a season. Great is His faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies - be they snowdrops or street cleaners to help us suck up our dirt - we see.We have this hope of glory even in our ugliest, dirtiest seasons. This season, no matter how long it lasts, is short if we measure our span of life in light of eternity. Truly, we do have this hope to hang on to.Friend, I’m holding on to hope. This ugly won’t last forever. A month from now, I'll be snapping photos of my flowering ornamental cherry tree. It’s a short season, but a long game. The trick is to choose to see hope, wherever it sprouts in the mud and muck, and to hold it in our hearts, isn't it? May we have tastes and visions and imaginations of future glory as we lift our eyes to see what joy is right beside us, exactly where we are.
Movie Ticket Giveaway!
Need a little hope-filled inspiration? You know I love a giveaway. WOOHOO!
I’ve been given two Admit Two passes for the release of the hugely inspirational film, BREAKTHROUGH (releasing in North American theatres starting next Friday) to share with you, Canadian friends! (Sorry, US friends – this one is just for those living north of the border.) To enter, in a comment below, tell me about something beautiful you've seen lately (like the snowdrops beside where I park my car!), despite this ugly season and make sure you're subscribed to my blog!
Two winners will be chosen at noon ET on Wednesday, April 17th, 2019 and posted here.
WINNERS: Shannon S & Tracey W