While Groundhog Day has us longing for spring, we are sometimes called to wait in the winter season.
Today is Groundhog Day. It’s the day where people anxiously gather around a groundhog’s, zoo habitat and to see whether or not it will predict an early spring or six more weeks of winter. It’s a kind of bizarre ritual that we can thank German immigrants for bringing to America in the 1700’s.
I’ll have to admit though, in the dead of winter, it’s always fun to dream of an early spring. Spring is when the earth pops back to life. Flowers and trees explode in colorful blooms at every turn. The air turns warm. Birds sing. Spring is a glimpse of paradise here on earth.
Who wouldn’t want spring to come early?
There was a movie released in 1993, called, “Groundhog Day.” It was a comedy starring Bill Murray, but it had a much deeper message than comedies often do.
Murray plays a weather man sent to cover Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He is angry and downright surly about having to go. He has better things to do and makes everyone around him miserable as he complains about the miserable little town and the rodent he is sent to cover. Different characters try to reach out to him, but he shoves them all away.
Then a blizzard comes through and he is snowed in for the night, stuck there. He finally goes to bed, thankful that the day is at last over and when the alarm goes off the next morning, it’s Groundhog Day again.
And so it goes, he is forced to relive the same monotonous day over and over. At one point, he tries killing himself. In true Murray fashion, he tries throwing a toaster in the tub, among other things. Nothing works.
He goes to sleep and wakes up to the same day, seemingly endlessly.
At some point, though, he decides to accept where he is. There’s no great epiphany. It’s subtle. He begins returning kindnesses that are extended to him, with kindness. He stops scheming to get the female lead to fall for him and begins to simply talk to her and get to know her and wonder of all wonders, she develops feelings for him too.
And then, just when he decides it’s okay, to be where he is indefinitely, he wakes up to the next day. Life at last moves on and he’s a much better and wiser human being than before.
We’ve all been there. Haven’t we?
There are times when life seems stuck in an endless loop of winter. We long for spring and we wonder if it will ever come. We sometimes make dozens of futile attempts to change our winter season and force the spring to come.
But, sometimes, God calls us to wait and trust. Sometimes, He is extremely busy crafting a spring for us that’s beyond our wildest dreams, with beauty that will take our breath away, but we must be willing to wait. We must be willing to accept that His plan is better than anything we could conceive on our own.
So, if you find yourself stuck in your own Groundhog Day loop, don’t be discouraged. The Bible says,”Have I not commanded you? Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Spring is coming.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂