Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to share a piece in the North Star Monthly titled “The Long Let Go: Winter loosens its grip on the Kingdom; A late-March meditation on mud, patience, and the promise of what’s thawing beneath” reflecting on the slow, messy transition from winter to spring here in the Northeast Kingdom. That same “in-between” season has stayed on my mind, especially as we look ahead to Resurrection Sunday. It’s hard not to see a deeper picture in it—one that mirrors both the heaviness of the days leading up to the cross and the hope that burst forth in the resurrection. I’d like to share a devotional version of that reflection here, connecting those familiar muddy roads and melting snowbanks to the new life we have in Christ.
The Hope of the Thaw
In the Northeast Kingdom, we know what it means to live in between seasons.
March doesn’t arrive with a clean break from winter. Instead, it brings a slow letting go. Snowbanks shrink but linger. The roads turn soft and muddy. The ground begins to wake, but it’s not quite alive yet. It’s messy. Uncertain. Incomplete.
And yet—it’s full of promise.
What looks like mud is actually the beginning of life.
As we move toward Resurrection Sunday, it’s hard not to see a reflection of something deeper.
Jesus told His disciples what was coming:
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered… and they shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.” (Mark 10:33–34)
But they didn’t fully understand.
To them, the road ahead didn’t look like victory—it looked like loss.
Like a long winter settling in.came those dark days.
The arrest.
The trial.
The cross.
The silence of the tomb.
For the disciples, it must have felt like everything had frozen over. The One they had followed… gone. The hope they had held… buried.
They were living in their own kind of “mud season”—caught between what they thought would be and what they now feared was the end.
Not fully winter anymore…
But not yet spring.
And isn’t that where we often find ourselves?
In-between.
Not where we used to be…
Not yet where we’re going…
Walking through seasons that feel unclear, messy, and slow to change.
But just like these late-winter roads, something is happening beneath the surface.
God is at work.
Softening what was hard.
Moving what felt stuck.
Preparing for life where things once seemed lifeless.
Then came the morning that changed everything.
The stone rolled away.
The grave emptied.
Death defeated.
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said…” (Matthew 28:6)
What looked like the end… was only the beginning.
What felt like winter… gave way to life.
That’s the hope of the resurrection.
It reminds us that no season of darkness is final. No frozen place is beyond God’s reach. No “in-between” moment is wasted.
Even when we can’t yet see it—
Spring is coming.
So as you drive those muddy roads…
As you watch the snow melt and the ground begin to breathe again…
Let it remind you:
God works in the slow thaw.
A little warmth.
A little light.
A little life returning.
And one day soon—
what looks uncertain now will burst into something beautiful.
Because of the resurrection…
there is always hope.
Discover more from NorthlandLens
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
