“In the cold and snow of winter, there’s a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” Natalie Sleeth
Tomorrow marks the first official day of spring. Spring is a time of transformation. After the long winter months, when everything seemed still and lifeless, the world begins to awaken. Buds appear on the trees, flowers push through the earth, and the days seem hopeful and bright.
Natalie Sleeth’s Hymn of Promise beautifully captures this transformation. You can read all the verses below, but for now, I will share a few reflections on this modern hymn. In Sleeth’s lyrics, I am always struck by how God is always at work—even when we cannot yet see the results. A bulb buried beneath the soil contains the promise of a flower. A seed holds the future of a tree. A cocoon conceals a butterfly waiting to be free. Spring shows us the beauty of patience and trust.
Union Family, just as the earth moves from dormancy to new life, so does our faith. There are seasons when we may feel stuck in the "cold and snow of winter," wondering if God is really at work in our lives. The promising results of God's work in our lives are often “unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.” We can trust that God is nurturing something new within us when we face seasons of silence, doubt, or struggle. Hope is already on the horizon, even if we cannot yet see it.
As we step into spring, let us open our hearts to God’s promise of renewal and resurrection. Even in the middle of Lent, we look to Jesus' resurrection from the dead and hold fast to the hope it gives us. We do this every Sunday, in fact. Did you know that the Sundays during Lent do not count in the overall 40 days of the Season? Each Sunday is a little Easter. So just as the world around us is changing, God is still making all things new—including us. May we trust in the unseen work of the Spirit, knowing that resurrection is always on its way.
Hymn of Promise by Natalie Sleeth
In the bulb, there is a flower
In the seed, an apple tree
In cocoons, a hidden promise
Butterflies will soon be free
In the cold and snow of winter
There's a spring that waits to be
Unrevealed until its season
Something God alone can see.
There's a song in every silence
Seeking word and melody
There's a dawn in every darkness
Bringing hope to you and me
From the past will come the future
What it holds a mystery
Unrevealed until its season
Something God alone can see.
In our end is our beginning
In our time, infinity
In our doubt, there is believing
In our life, eternity
In our death, a resurrection
At the last, a victory
Unrevealed until its season
Something God alone can see.