Slow Melt

There is always evidence of God’s grace as we look around us.
There are days when you have to look, really look, to find it.
It has less to do with Him and more to do with the state of our heart.
However, there are days when you just can’t miss it.

Today was such a day.

Spring is upon us; not just on the calendar, but poking through the soft ground.
Crocuses and daffodils are waking up.
Worms are wriggling away from the hungry robins waiting for a feast.
Birds are singing, announcing the new life that is happening all around us.

Just a few weeks ago, there were remnants of snow all around.
Piles left along the side of the road, were wearing out their welcome.
Road salt and cinders made a crunching sound under your feet.
Tree limbs and branches that have been buried most of the winter are visible.

Weeks before that, no bare earth could be seen.
A blanket of white covered the ground for months.
There were times I felt as if I would never see the grass again.
Piles of shoveled snow in parking lots were stories high.

Yet somehow, quietly and unobtrusively the snow disappeared.
The blanket of white has been removed.
It has been put away in the celestial closet until next winter.
Melting happened right under my nose and I missed it.

Slow Melt.

What grace!
Imagine if more than sixty-seven total accumulated inches of snow melted immediately.
Where would all that water go?
Yards would be a boggy mess and rivers and streams would overflow.

God, in His grace, protected us by giving us a slow melt.

I was struck by His grace as I passed the babbling brook at the end of the road.
I was struck by His grace as I saw the cows across the road, calves tagging along behind.
Evidence of His grace was all around me.
I was slowly waking up; my senses coming alive.

God is never in a hurry, but God is never late.
I just read those words yesterday.
Timing is of the Lord.
Even in His timing, God does a slow melt.

We wait for things and complain about how long it is taking.
Slow Melt.
We can’t understand why our prayers seem to go unanswered.
Slow Melt.

We know what is best and cannot imagine why God doesn’t seem to agree.
Slow Melt.
We have been praying and praying for a loved one to know the Lord.
Slow Melt.

In the slowness, in the quietness, God is still working.
In the seemingly dull moments when nothing is happening, life is stirring.
Things are being worked together for good when the piles are stories high.
Obstacles that have worn out their welcome long ago will soon be manageable.

But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. (Exodus 23:29,30)

Little by little.
Slow Melt.
God’s Sovereignty accomplishes much in His timing.
Evidence of God’s Amazing Grace.

We just have to learn to trust Him.
We have to learn to trust that waiting is good for us.
We would be deluged with things we could not control if we had everything all at once.
A slow melt is to our benefit and God’s glory.

Even our faith journey is often a slow melt.
It is very rare for most of us to have a Damascus road experience like the apostle Paul.
More often than not, our faith journey is a process.
What we know in our head has to have time to reach our heart.

Slow Melt.

God preserves his people.
God’s Spirit quickens a heart that was once frozen and cold.
Over time, and in God’s grace, a slow melt occurs.
The ice is melting even when we are unaware.

One day, His amazing grace overwhelms you.
You see Him everywhere you look.
You hear Him whispering to your heart.
You are coming alive.

Life is peeking through where there once was solid ice.
Slowly, you are becoming aware.
Slowly, you see Him in the beauty all around you.
God is never in a hurry, but God is never late.

The thaw was gradual, but in Christ, the thaw is complete.

New life is everywhere.
Debris is gone.
The enemy of our souls will be crushed under His feet.

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

The graciousness of our God.
God’s timing is perfect.
Be thankful for a slow melt.