Year after year, God proclaims His transformational nature to us — and we cannot miss it. He speaks it to every one of our senses, from the depths of the ocean to the tops of the mountains. Every spring, we are met with fresh certainty: God makes all things new. This is no accident. It is purposeful, intentional, and breathtaking. Step outside and life is erupting all around you — blossoms bursting from the trees, animals waking from their long sleep, new life breaking through the soil in every direction. Even those with seasonal allergies get a full-bodied reminder that something extraordinary is happening.
In my front yard stands a maple tree — I’m not entirely sure what kind. By most measures, it’s an unassuming tree. Its fall colors are modest, and its leaves stay small. But every single year, it does something remarkable: it releases thousands of those little helicopter seeds, spinning through the air in every direction. I do my best to rake them up each fall, but a hundred or so always find their way into the soil, quietly settling in for the winter.
Then spring arrives — and those resilient little seeds, the ones that nestled quietly into the earth all winter long, drink in just enough moisture and begin to push upward. By mid-March, my front yard is alive with a tiny forest of miniature trees. It’s breathtaking, really. If I chose to cultivate them year after year, they would grow into a literal forest. In this small, faithful cycle, I catch a glimpse of the design and providence of God — working quietly, consistently, and with stunning purpose.
Seed metaphors are pervasive in the Bible. Jesus’ teachings place seeds at the forefront. The parables regarding the Sower (Mark 4:1-8), Mustard Seed (Mark 4:30-34), Growing Seeds (Mark 4:26-29), all point to the germination process. How something tiny and imperceptible can take root, mature, and multiply. We begin to see how God works within our lives.
Mark 4:26-29 “And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.’”
We often long for the dramatic moves of God — parting seas, earthquakes, fire from heaven. And God is certainly capable of all of that. But what we discover, again and again, is that He most often chooses to create new beginnings in the most quiet, pervasive, and unstoppable of ways. Every spring is a living reminder: God is at work in our lives, and His work does not fail.
There are seasons when our lives feel dormant — quiet, cold, and still. You might call it the winter of the soul. But take heart: God is actively working even then. Seeds are being planted. Soil is being prepared. Rains are soaking deep into the earth. Change is already beginning, even when we cannot see it. What feels like stillness is actually the ground being made ready. And before long — sometimes sooner than we expect — a forest begins to rise.
Spring is a reminder to trust and wait on God. He has been bringing life out of the earth since the very beginning, and He is the One who causes every seed to grow.