When the Timing Doesn't Seem Right

Friends, this is a picture of my backyard taken just moments ago after a blustery snowsquall on this final day of March.  Seriously.

You know what they say about this month, right?  In like a lion, out like a lion.

I'll state the obvious: snow on the last day of March feels wrong.  I want to smell earth, walk throughout my yard, and discover emerging crocus, daffodils, and tulips.  The kids itch to break free from the confines of the house.  We're ready to fling open the windows, usher in a fresh breeze, and put an end to this weather that keeps us bundled indoors.

At best, the timing of this late-March flurry seems off.  At worst, it seems like a direct assault against all that is good and right and hopeful.

While folding laundry this afternoon, I thought about how it should be time to swap out the girls' winter clothes for their warm-weather wardrobes -- a process that normally takes an afternoon as I clean out closets, sort outgrown items into bins or donation piles, and wash the incoming clothes.

It should be time, but the current weather makes the task unnecessary. 

And in that singular realization, I pause and think that perhaps this timing might be helping me.  I'm swamped this week -- heavy grading, extra work meetings, parent-teacher conferences for my kids, and school cancelations for the upcoming Easter holiday.  Adding another task that I feel I should be doing -- like transitioning our closets from winter to spring -- might be the very thing that pushes me over the edge.

Perhaps this snow is a gift.  Perhaps it's a hurdle preventing me from taking on more than I'm currently capable of taking on.

When good things in life appear to be stalling -- an opportunity, a new venture, a promotion, or even the arrival of spring -- especially if there seems to be no good earthly reason for the delay, perhaps I'd be wise to pause before getting frustrated or discouraged.

Maybe there's meaning behind the delay.  Maybe those seemingly good turns of events, those goals and dreams I aspire to and long for, could end up being more than I could currently handle if I took them on now.  Maybe my goals and dreams are perfectly valid and right, but the timing isn't.  At least not yet.

Spring is coming.  I'm convinced of this, and I'd be foolish to let another minor setback like this late March snowfall shake that conviction.  In the same way, when life seems to be stalling or holding me back from good things, I can stand my ground and wait, growing and maturing in the process so I'll be ready when the right time comes. 

Even if we can't see it, spring is still coming.  Its temporary delay might be exactly what we need.