Winter: A Soul Gone Dormant

We are in the depths of winter here in Minnesota. It is cold and there is a layer of white wet snow on the ground. The ground underneath this snow is frozen solid. When winter strikes in MN most of the trees, plants and many animals go dormant. Now, I am no biologist and don't claim to know exactly why plants and animals go dormant but my understanding is that they do so in order to conserve energy. They need to conserve energy because they aren't getting the nutrients, food or sunshine they need to thrive and grow.

It occurred to me that we humans all go through phases in our life when we go dormant. Now most of us don't actually hibernate or sleep for days on end but rather we go through times in our life when we need conserve energy so that when our spring comes we are ready to thrive. Our dormancy's probably feel like we are stuck or come to a stand still in our spiritual life. Sometimes there is something we can do to move this dormancy along other times we just have to wait it out like the plants and animals in winter.

If we are called to wait it out that can be difficult because we live in a culture that tells us to always be moving forward, to be getting more, and getting better. So we must find solace in the fact that there are times in our life that we are called into to a time of waiting of dormancy by God. During these times we need to tell ourselves that we are stuck "right now." We can tell ourselves that our Spring will soon come and that again we will see ourselves thriving and growing. That is the Good News of the Gospel - that God loves us enough to know when we need to go dormant and when we are again ready to thrive.

Are you in a time of dormancy or a time of growth and thriving? What was the time of dormancy like? What did you learn about yourself or God? How did you you the dormancy was over and that spring had sprung for you? Share in the comments so others can learn and grow form your story!