Spring, Seasons and Fresh Starts
Finding encouragement in spite of rejection.
Last October, I wrote about fall. Fall is austere, and while it’s the time of harvest and bright colors, it’s also the time when nature is getting ready for winter.
In winter, we don’t see growth. The plants look dead. Very few animals are out. It’s gloomy and sad.
Then, in spring, the birds come out, and the squirrels and racoon and deer. There are even more slugs and worms on the pavement. Trees bud and flower, and even the grass looks greener. In ancient times, the year often started in the spring. While we don’t do that now, we have several rituals that mark a fresh start.
spring cleaning. Some people take this more seriously than others. But whenever it’s warm enough to open the windows, I want to clean things. Perhaps it’s the dopamine from the sun and fresh air motivating me, or seeing the rain wash the muck away and replace it with green growth. Perhaps it’s the opposite of hoarding for the winter, since I’ll go through my closet and start letting go of things. Either way, it’s a ritual marking a fresh start.
end-of-school/graduation. In the marketing/retail world, graduation is practically a holiday, with all the decorations and grad-cap-themed merchandise. Regardless, it is a significant change. As a student, my schedule winds up to a busy last couple weeks and then near-absolute freedom for the summer. (I do still have to work and do responsible things, but during the summer there’s still more freedom about how and when I do that.😜)
Resurrection Sunday/Easter. While not everyone celebrates this holiday the same way, for me, it is a spiritual restart. It is a reminder that because Yeshua (Christ) holds the power over sin and death, my sins are forgiven, no matter what bad things I had done. I believe this is the most significant holiday in the calendar, and I observed this past Resurrection Sunday with feelings of gratitude, forgiveness, hope, and joy.1
Because of the weather change, the schedule change, and the reminder of spiritual rebirth, spring is a natural time for a fresh start.
This concept of seasons is important to me as an artist, because of how easy it is to become discouraged. For example, this time last year, I was preparing a set of illustrations to submit to an art gallery, because they had offered me a potential showing. I spent hours on each of the ten pieces, not counting the rejects that I started and messed up on. After all this work, when the gallery released the list of what artists they were accepting, I was not on the list.
As a young artist, I’ve tried many things, and I’ve failed and been rejected many times. This is why I cling to each opportunity for a fresh start so dearly, whether that’s a new school year, a new calendar year, or a summer break full of possibilities. Each fresh start is a gift from God, and a reminder that my work is for Him, not for human approval or accolade.
Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,
not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,
knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.
Ephesians 6:6-8 [ESV]
Now I know I’m sounding super spiritual, but I promise I’m preaching to myself as well. I forget that my identity is in Christ, not my art or what a judge or critic or gallery director thinks of my art.
Will you join me in this fresh start, and let go of past doubts and discouragement? Will you try something new, and share it? And will you remind me, when I need reminding, that my value is in God, not art?
I love y’all and pray you have a blessed spring.
If you are not familiar with the importance of the Resurrection, please allow me to explain. Every human being is accountable to God, who is loving and merciful but also demands justice. Because we have all sinned and rebelled against an infinite God, we are deserving of an infinite punishment (hell.) But God loves us and doesn’t want us to be separated from Him by our sin, so He sent His Son, Yeshua (anglicized as Jesus) to bear this infinite punishment.
Yeshua was both the essence of God and the essence of humankind (100% God and 100% human) so he could take this infinite punishment in our place. When he died on the cross, he took our punishment, and when he rose from the dead (resurrection) he publicly conquered sin and death. When we believe in Yeshua, repent of our sin, and put our trust in him, God looks at us and sees Yeshua’s sinlessness. We are forgiven of our sin and rebellion and allowed to live a life in fellowship with God (sanctification and eternal life in heaven.)