I am glad that the extreme cold has finally loosened its grip on us. I can’t tell you how many people have said to me, Mr. Snow lover himself, “If it’s going to be this cold it should snow!” I agree. I would like to see a good snow this winter.

The extreme cold has taken away some of our lettuce and Swiss chard. We grew some in containers and kept them in a sunny, protected area…but this cold has taken its toll. We have some pansies and violas that are looking a bit sad too, but I know they will pop back after a few nice days.

I stopped by my mother’s a few days ago and she had to point out that her daffodils were up and some of them even had buds. I went to check on mine and all I have is…nothing.

We are hoping that our potted plants outside survived this awful cold spell. We pulled a few plants into the garage, hoping to help them through the cold.

I was talking to a few of my gardening buddies at work the other day and they asked if I was dreaming about getting started on the garden. Honestly, I enjoy the rest of winter, but it won’t be long before I will be ready to get my tiller going, but for right now I would like to see some snow.

To be honest, besides the excitement of a potential snowstorm, this is a hard time of the year for me. The lights from the holiday season are packed away for another year. I drive to work in the dark and arrive home in the evening as darkness is setting in.

The trees are bare and the garden is empty. Regardless of these circumstances, I still feel a hunger within.

I understand that people suffer from the winter blues…or is it blahs? The fact that it is cold and we feel stuck in the grip of winter without the hope of spring (or snow…) can lead us to a place where we are hungry for something different. What interests me is that there can be a parallel feeling in our spirit. There can be a hunger within for a deeper relationship with our Father in Heaven. Our spirits go through times of growth and times of rest like the seasons of the year. We might be budding for spring or bearing fruit for summer and fall. Sometimes there is a stirring within our soul for something more. I am not sure if it connected to a season, it’s just a realization that we are hungry for more of God. Whatever the case, our spirits want more of heaven and less of what this world has to offer.

We want to crawl up into our Heavenly Father’s arms and allow Him to love on us. I am not sure we are hungry for anything specific; we just want to be with Him.

I normally have this kind of hunger right before I go to the beach. I can’t wait to get there, not just because I love being at the beach, but because I am expecting to meet with God while I am there. Those same feelings seem to be stirring in me now, a hunger and an expectancy that God and I are going to meet. I want more of Him and His Spirit. I feel my flesh resisting but my spirit is driving me because of the hunger within.

I know that I am a blessed man, but I can’t escape the sense in my spirit that there is more for me, and I want it. I am not sure what to expect because I always walk away from the beach with answers to questions I didn’t know I had. All I know is that I am hungry and I am expecting God.

I want to encourage you to stir up a hunger in your spirit for more of God. There is so much about God that we don’t know. No one can know everything about God. Doesn’t the idea that there are things about God that we don’t know make you hungry? That’s a godly hunger and I believe that our Heavenly Father will not disappoint us. We don’t have to wait until we are in special places like the beach to be drawn into His presence. I believe all we need is a hunger for more of Him.

Contact Doug at doug@dougcreamer.com