Dave’s Ward Messenger Entry, February 2009

Winter's Chill

I love gardening! I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but somewhere between my childhood and now, I fell in love with the soil. I never quite get over a sense of awe as I contemplate all that is contained within a small seed and how, with the proper care and conditions, one can reap many times over what is planted. I find great satisfaction in tilling, planting, and nurturing a sizable variety of fruits and vegetables on my small 5^th acre lot. It's not so much the work that fulfills me as it is the bountiful harvest that inevitably follows. Anticipating the fruits of my labors makes both the labor and fruits all the more worthwhile. I suppose this is one of the reasons I have always loved spring.

For me spring is a new beginning; a rebirth. The air is fresh and clean, birds are singing, buds are swelling, flowers blooming, and the earth is blanketed in new green life. But this splendor is merely a foreshadowing of better things to come: a hope and promise of satisfaction and joy in the fruits of my labors, simple abundance, and a bountiful harvest.

I'm not a great fan of the cold. I confess that I occasionally find myself murmuring over my winter woes. Perhaps I've even burdened a number of you with my less than silent protest. I just grow weary of shoveling, tires with no traction, dress shoes with less traction, worrying about ice damage to my home, shoveling; feeling the bite of too little insulation, cold feet, wet feet, shoveling; treacherous roads, scraping windshields, rain gutters overflowing with ice, spalling cement, shoveling; drafty windows, open doors, snow on the carpet, snow in the kitchen, boots, hats, mittens, coats, water and mud in the entry way, shoveling….

A few weeks ago when the daytime temperature plunged to single digits and my rain gutters filled with several hundred pounds of ice, I found myself checked in my complaining as the spirit brought to remembrance things which I already knew, but never fully appreciated. The very elements which afflicted me were also building our snow packs to feed our aquifers and replenish our reservoirs with the water essential for thirsty plants. Pure snow is virtually devoid of mineral nutrients but pulls these materials from the rocks and soil as it melts. The freezing and thawing cycles of winter facilitate the extraction of essential minerals and nutrients and help provide vital elements for plant growth. Most vivid in my mind was the importance of the winter chill. Many of the flowers, plants, and fruits I love actually require a period of cold before they will germinate, bud, and fruit. Indeed, the fruits I most love also require the most intensive labor and the longest period of winter chill. Were it not for the long hours of winter cold, many plants I enjoy simply would not grow or bear fruit in spite of my labors. How ironic that within the icy clutches of winter, when so much seems bleak, devoid of hope and life, the spark of new life is kindled; the hope and promise of satisfaction and joy in the fruits of my labors, simple abundance, and a bountiful harvest.

As we pass through this mortal existence we experience seasons of abundance and seasons of privation; seasons of joy and ones of sorrow; success and failure; ease and hardship; triumphant gains and heart breaking losses; enlightenment and stupor; good and evil. In the depths of adversity, it is easy to feel afflicted, singled out and forsaken. Some may even feel that their burdens are too great to bear.

However, were it not for opposition in all things, we are taught that "righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad; "and this would "destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purpose."
(see 2 Nephi 2:11-19)

"The Saints should always remember that God sees not as man sees; that he does not willingly afflict his children, and that if he requires them to endure present privation and trial, it is that they may escape greater tribulations which would otherwise inevitably overtake them. If He deprives them of any present blessing, it is that he may bestow upon them greater and more glorious ones by- and –by." Elder George Q. Cannon 1827-1901)

The scriptures are filled with accounts of faithful servants of God who endured extreme hardship. Jesus Christ was described as a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." (Isaiah 53:3) Joseph Smith suffered terribly but was told that his afflictions would give him experience and would be for his good.
(D&C 122: 6-9) This promise is extended to all who love God; all things will work to their good. (Rom 8:28). Our Heavenly father knows our needs and will provide them if we are not of little faith. (3 Nephi 13:28-33)
If we will keep all the commandments and covenants by which we are bound, He will cause the heavens to shake for our good. (D&C 35:24)

Where is our promise of a bountiful harvest? "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. "
(1 Cor 2:9) We can rest assured that during the bleak winter days of life, the cold winds of adversity are kindling the spark of new life; the hope and promise of simple abundance, and a bountiful harvest if we will place our trust in God.

Around the middle of January a brief warm spell quickly melted the ice and snow off the road and sidewalks within a few days. My overflowing frozen rain gutters once again channeled water efficiently off my roof and away from my foundation and the bare earth of my flowerbeds was exposed in numerous places. I was surprised to see crocus foliage already several inches high breaking free from its icy bed. It warmed my heart and brought a smile to my face as it seemed to say; "Just a little while longer. Spring is just around the corner; and with it, new life; a hope and promise of satisfaction and joy in the fruits of your labors, simple abundance, and a bountiful harvest."

I have always loved spring!

David Parish

Bishopric 2^nd Counselor