This week's Theme: God In All Seasons
Day 1: Winter Bloom
Several months ago, I shared the story of three pepper plants that I had attempted to over-winter indoors. Two of them made it to spring, but shortly before I could transplant them into the warm sunshine, one of the two unexpectedly died. And then there was one.
At the time of my post, I wondered whether the third plant would “hold on just a little bit longer and make the last hundred yards.” It did! And when I gathered in my last fall harvest, a handful of beautiful orange peppers sparkled among my tomatoes and Delicata Squash.
I saved a few pepper seeds for spring planting, just in case, but I again brought my valiant little pepper plant indoors for another winter. I decided I could leave it in the garage over the holidays, before bringing it inside in the January cold.
As I entered the house through the garage, I would occasionally check to make sure the plant had enough moisture, and that it did not show any temperature-related stress. But as the hustle and bustle of the holiday set in, my checks became more sporadic.
Finally one day a few weeks ago, I realized it had been too long since I had monitored the plant. I approached it, intent on checking for moisture. I was amazed to discover three fully-grown peppers hanging from the branches!
I’ve been thinking of my “winter peppers” lately, as the post-holiday lull sets in and the long, cold days loom ahead. I am reminded that even in the winter seasons of life God brings flourishing and growth and harvest.
God neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4) and even in the dormant seasons and the changing cycles of earth, He brings all the “elements” together to produce His harvest in due season (Galatians 6:9 – NKJV). He works unceasingly in the lives of individuals, in the affairs of His kingdom, and in His purposes for the gospel. The Lord Jesus uses an ordinary, yet vivid metaphor to illustrate:
“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head" (Mark 4:26-28).
The Sovereign God is never constrained by conditions in our world—He works in all circumstances—He is God in all seasons. In our ordinary activities, special celebrations, post-holiday doldrums, everyday frustrations, simple joys, and serious challenges, He is still God.
He is the God who pours water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground (Isaiah 44:3)—the God who brings fruit in season (Psalm 1:4). And peppers in winter!
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