With Spring comes the urge to clean and discard wintry laden reminders. Most of can't wait to tend to our yards: raking, bagging old leaves, and readying garden beds.
In my backyard, the first thing that caught my eye a few days ago was the green of a chickweed poking through the crusted dirt. Geez, I thought...to think after the force of a rough winter this 'thing' endured.
There is something especially wonder-like about this season of time. I find it fascinating that after the long months of bitter cold and extreme weather, nature remains strong with the promise of new growth. It truly has a spirit of long suffering -- it eventually blooms again from its yearly bout of forbearance.
Forbearance is the noun form of forbear which in its old, original verb form, forbere, stems from Old English. It means fortitude, endurance, and patience.
I like to think of forbearance as having the quality of bearing up against a force of some kind. Even though this characteristic is not one of my strong suits, I can admire patience and endurance. Nature truly is patient at times, quietly waiting with assurance that the cycle of life will continue...given the proper time.
Metaphorically, nature must bear under the weight of the howling winds, the storms of snow and ice, and even the earth's rotation. Its fortitude is tested; it forbears until the next cycle.
In the New Testament, the Greek word, makrothumis, means long-suffering. You can find the word in the verses of Galatians 5:22-23. The context has to do with the "fruit of the Spirit" -- which are the various manifestations of duty one has to his or her neighbor. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering (forbearance in NIV), gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance..."
Forbearance or the long-suffering of nature, even though offended by the throes of winter, controls itself, patiently waiting. The ancient Hebrew word for this meant to 'keep silent or to be still.' That's what our outside environs seem like as we're hunkered down in the thick stillness of the winter months...waiting patiently, even though our patience is definitely tried and tested.
Nature's long-suffering is proof of its goodness and faithfulness. Throughout the force of winter, it shows gracious and wondrously strong restraint, knowing best when to bring forth its fruit of Spring.
We are grateful for this given transformation of the life cycle, but maybe, we can learn a lesson or two from the quiet endurance and forbearance of nature's 'spirit'---a spirit which, even though some days are darken with doubt, can bring forth the fruit of gentle splendor...yes, even being appreciative of the small hopes for brighter dawns... yes, even being grateful for the seemingly insignificant sign of life like...the chickweed.