“Did you get it?”

My late husband, John’s voice carried that familiar mix of curiosity and excitement as he stood in the doorway holding the mail. “Yes, here it is,” I said, handing him the magazine. Within minutes he was sitting in his recliner flipping through page after page of wildflower pictures. If you had walked into the room, you might have thought he had just opened the best Christmas present imaginable.

Every year it was the same.

As soon as the wildflower guide arrived, John began planning our annual trip through the Texas Hill Country. It didn’t matter whether the fields were covered in bluebonnets or if we only spotted a few along the roadside. What mattered to him was the journey and the chance to witness what had quietly been happening beneath the surface all winter long.

Along the highways, bluebonnets appear almost suddenly, scattered across the fields like small beacons of color against the fading gray of winter. One day the landscape looks dull and tired. The next day, tiny bursts of blue begin to appear.

It almost feels like a miracle.

Curious about how something so delicate could survive the winter, I once looked up how bluebonnets grow. What I learned surprised me. Long before we ever see the blossoms, the seeds have been resting quietly in the soil. Rain softens the hard shell. Roots begin to form beneath the surface. Growth begins in places no one can see. By the time the flowers appear, the real work has already been happening for months.

Life with God often feels like that too.

When we walk through difficult seasons, it’s easy to believe nothing is changing. We look around and see only the gray landscape of winter—circumstances that feel heavy, prayers that seem unanswered, days that look very much like the day before.

But God is rarely idle during those seasons.

Much like the bluebonnet seeds resting beneath the soil, something may already be taking root beneath the surface of our lives. Strength is forming. Faith is deepening. Quiet work is unfolding in ways we may not yet see. Scripture reminds us that God is always at work, even when we cannot yet see the evidence of it. The same God who brings life out of the winter soil is the God who brings renewal to our hearts. He knows the season we are in, and He knows exactly what is needed to carry us through it.

Sometimes the hardest part of faith is remembering that God is still working while the field still looks empty.

But the story of the gospel reminds us that winter never has the final word. The cross looked like the end of hope, yet God was already preparing resurrection. Spring always follows winter and the God who brings bluebonnets out of the cold Texas soil is the same God who brings new life to us, again and again. Even when we cannot yet see it, He is already at work.

Spring is coming.

Tool of the Week

Notice the Signs of Spring

This week’s tool is simply an invitation to pause and look for small signs of life that may already be appearing.

Winter seasons can make it difficult to see anything beyond the present moment. But sometimes hope shows up quietly—in small changes, new strength, or moments of peace we didn’t expect.

Take a few minutes this week to reflect on these questions:

• What small signs of life or growth have you noticed recently?
• Where might God already be working beneath the surface?
• What helps you remember that winter seasons do not last forever?

Sometimes the first sign that spring is coming is simply the reminder that God has not stopped working.

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If this reflection encouraged you, would you take a moment to:
– Pray — that Faith in the Fog finds its way into the hands of those who need its message of hope and healing and that I listen to God’s voice in all that I do.
– Share — this post with someone who might need the reminder that they’re not walking alone.
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