The Winter of My Life

By Hazel Holland

"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." John 12:24

Have you ever felt that your life was one long, cold winter night that would never end? I have. The challenge and uncertainty of unforeseen circumstances left you wondering what would happen next as the monotonous days and months dragged by offering little hope that springtime was coming. Even the sun forgot to come out from behind the clouds on most days and offer you the consoling warmth of its rays.

But just as God had a purpose for creating the winter season, He also has a purpose for teaching us about His constancy and love during the winter seasons of our lives. During these times when we long for Springtime, we can't see what He's doing in our lives because everything is buried just beneath the surface.

But we can rest assured that God is doing His work in the soil of our hearts during the long, cold winter of our lives. Without winter there could be no Spring. For it is during the winter season that the seed must die in order to bring forth a fruitful harvest in the Spring.

Then at just the right time, in God's eternal Spingtime, He will bring forth a harvest of righteousness from the long, cold winter of our lives... a fruitful harvest that will glorify Him!

Hinds Feet

By Hazel Holland
 

 "The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills." Habakkuk 3:19; Psalm 18:33

Only a God of love can transform the grief and pain that we each experience in our daily lives and make these valley times into something very precious. Since God made us for Himself, our hearts can never know His peace and rest until we find it in His love alone.

That's why this spiritual journey we are on has many troubles and trials and tests of every kind. God permits difficulties to come our way because one of the most important lessons God desires to teach us as we walk through dark times is that His love will never abandon us to the darkness. Instead, He is the Light that will overwhelm it.

He wants us to learn to trust Him and surrender our wills to Him in the midst of not knowing what lies ahead. As we choose to abandon ourselves to God's loving care, we will begin to experience the kind of love and intimacy that our hearts have always longed for.

Perhaps more than anything else God wants to show us how He can redeem our past mistakes and failures. He can restore the years that the locusts have eaten, and when we least expect it, He can bring forth fruitfulness out of what was once dry, parched ground.

Through His Spirit He wants to bring new meaning to our lives and give us a greater understanding of the experiences through which we pass. He wants to make our feet like the feet of a deer so that we can learn to walk by faith and not by sight. So let's choose to stand in the high places of His heart where His perfect love casts out all fear.

Sweet Fellowship

By Hazel Holland

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Isaiah 1:18

Here's another one of my oil paintings done on what originally was a very dark and discolored-looking shell. Since this shell didn't naturally have an evenly white background, I had to paint the background white before I could paint another heart-warming winter scene from God's creation.

Kind of reminds me of how our hearts looked before God forgave us and whitewashed us with His blood! Now our sins have become as white as snow, because His agape love covers a multitude of sins.

Since we have been so graciously forgiven, let us extend God's forgiveness to one another and enjoy the sweet fellowship that comes from living in the Spirit.

Unbroken Fellowship

By Hazel Holland

Many years ago now I did a number of oil paintings on shells that I had picked up one afternoon during a stroll along Pismo Beach. I decided that these plain and ordinary looking shells could become quite extraordinary if I painted some heart-warming scenes on them and brought them to life. This one was my first try.

I know at times during our lives we may feel plain and ordinary, and perhaps even like a shell of what we use to be, but does God see us this way? Because we are His beloved children, God desires to leave His footprints on our hearts forever... heart-warming scenes that portray His mercy and grace so that we will come to know His heart of agape love for us.

God is so amazing and extraordinary because He created us in His image even though He knew that sin would mar His image in us. That's because He also new that our acceptance of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for us would bring healing and restoration to the broken fellowship that sin created.

Since our hearts have now been reconciled to Him because of the cross, we have been brought back to life through the Spirit. Now we can enjoy heart-warming and unbroken fellowship with Him forever.