there is snow clinging to every single tiny branch. the whole world outside my window is white-tipped to celebrate the first day of march, the month that will bring life back into the air. i'm tired of sweaters and boots at this point; i'm ready for some flip-flops (hi jen) and some sitting outside. mainly, i'm ready for that rush my heart feels when things start blooming and the grip of winter is relaxing into spring. i want to talk to God on my balcony again. till then, it's from this artificially heated box of an apartment. my heart longs for spring. i've been sleeping with my blinds open, hoping i'll wake up to blue skies and green leaves some day soon. though i must admit, today's snow is far too elegant to wish it were anything else.

i'm reading 2 corinthians 5 today, where paul talks about focusing on what is seen versus what is unseen, what is temporary vs what is eternal. i'm struck by how much i am influenced by the view from my window when i wake up, and how God says that's exactly the part of the world that will not last. what is unseen is eternal, and yet it's heavily influenced, in my own life at least, by what is set before my eyes. winter is still here and i feel cold, tired, weary...but these are not permanent things, and when i put the simplicity of following Christ before the eyes of my heart, suddenly there is energy for me to keep on pushing forward. it's just another reason why i have to let God speak his truth into my heart before i walk into a world full of deceptive appearances. all things will pass away, but these morning hours spent looking out my window and asking Him to open me up, these will stay with me.