Summer
By Tammy Hopson
Mitchell County
The Earth is talking to us. Are you listening? Do you see the story it is telling in the visions around you? Think back to the coldness of winter. The Earth remained hardened and brittle from the elements that surrounded it. In the dullness, it sat quietly, sadly, as if it was waiting for something or someone. And then the warmth of the sun finally came. Reaching down to the lowest depths its light shone on all the Earth calling the deadness to life. Blades of grass pushed through the dry crust, bud, and leaf broke through the weathered branches and all around us life sprung forth once again. It is a miracle and with its display, it is reminding us of the marvelous story of our redemption. Do you see it now as you think about your life? Has it too been touched by this miracle? Do you remember the time when you were hardened by sin and sat in the coldness of winter? Oh, how glorious it was when you felt the Son for the first time! And oh, how your soul leaped when He called you from sin into His warm light! Suddenly around you, there was color and beauty and purpose! As you grew in the Lord the spring became summer and you began to bear His fruits. Wonderful, vibrant fruits of love and joy are hanging off your branches all because of the life that now resides within you. How glorious and extremely good is our God who has touched us, caused us to live, and equipped us so we can reach out to others and tell them about the new life within us.
But the story continues. In our walk with God, there will be times of great sacrifice. Just as there was for Jesus there will be for us too. Most of us will not be martyrs but God will call us to lay some things down and to die to the things that are not of Him. There will be an autumn. Sometimes at the peak of our walk with Him, the very moment we feel the most spiritual and vibrant God will call us to sacrifice, to give up something, or let something go. Oh, how hard this is! The loss we can feel at times can cause us to doubt but in our autumn God asks us to let go and trust.
And then it can feel like winter again, and a time we feel alone and cold and we sit in silence waiting for God to hear us. It is then we must remember this beautiful cycle of seasons in our life. We must trust and lean on the Life that is within us! God will not leave us in the cold! He will warm us again. The winter is frigid, but spring is coming!
And most importantly through this wonderful story, the Earth is telling us about our Jesus. Through these seasons, we see Him come down to a cold world hardened by sin to warm it and save it. We see His love touch others and cause them to live. We see him give His fruits and gifts to us so that we may do His good works upon the Earth. And then we see His ultimate sacrifice as He goes to the cross and willingly lays down the most beautiful, vibrant, and perfect life that ever lived. We see Him die for our redemption.
I love the way the Earth is retelling God’s plan of redemption, year after year after year! It is shouting to us “Look what Jesus did!” And it continuously proclaims, that even though here on Earth we endure death and sorrow, there is a resurrection coming! Those who belong to Christ will spring forth and live forever with Him where there will be no more death. Oh, how excited I am for that perfect place of joy! On the cross and to the two thieves that hung there with Him, Jesus called it paradise, but when they arrived I am sure it was summer.
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Tammy Hopson has been a Mitchell County resident since 1992 and lives in Red Hill with her family. She is a mother of six children and grandmother of 14. She has been a member of Hoyle Memorial Christian Fellowship in Lawndale, NC since 1992 and helps lead The HMCF Youth Group.
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