Welcome the new

I think that, were I one for making new year resolutions, I would save them all for the spring.

During the longest and coldest months, my personal growth is often narrowed down to what I can accomplish within the warmth of our little apartment (and beneath heaps and heaps of cozy blankets), and all the rest is at a near standstill.

But then! I begin to feel the sun's warmth again, and the snow starts to melt away, and I get itchy feet, and I can't sit still any longer, and I'm ready for change. Winter was the time for reflection, and spring is the time for growth.

These photographs are from a few weeks ago, when winter was beginning to show it's first signs of surrender - at Spencer's Gorge in Hamilton. The paths by the falls were still a few inches thick deep in ice, but the water was beginning to flow freely down into the gorge, and hints of green were showing through in small patches. This is a natural time for change, for the seasons, and for us, also.

Patricio and I now find ourselves making new plans and goals, looking further into the future than we allowed ourselves in previous years. I have been digging through our closets and cupboards, finding articles and trinkets we've long forgotten and outgrown, and making high piles by the door to give away to a friend, to repurpose, to throw in the trash bins once and for all. We are shedding away the old us to welcome the new; we are making room to live the dreams we carefully and thoughtfully stored away all winter long.

This past weekend we were able to listen to general conference. God truly knows my own heart, as I heard and felt the gentle reminders to be fearless in my own faith; to withhold judgement; exercise greater patience and love; listen more carefully; and serve Him more fully. These are the resolutions I hold to in this season of renewal and rebirth.