A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you. (Ezekiel 36: 26)

Underneath the snow outside my window, the soil is frozen and hard. Daffodil bulbs planted in autumn lie deep below the surface near the dormant rhizomes of what one day will be irises in glowing colors. But they remain only potential blooms as long as the ground is cold and hard.

How often our hearts are like the hard ground! The potential for great love, beauty, and wisdom is within us, but it fails to flower as long as our hearts remain hardened. We cut ourselves off from the sunshine of God’s power and never realize all that we could be in our communities, our relationships, and even in our personal lives–if only our hearts would thaw.

No matter what time of year it is, we can turn toward the light and warmth of God’s springtime in our lives. No matter what our age or how long our gifts have lain dormant within our hardened hearts, with the Creator’s help we can begin the struggle to break through the thawing ground and blossom as we were intended.

Holy God, soften our hearts with the warmth of Your love. May we feel Your presence with us as we begin the difficult process of growth!