Spring Renewal: Breaking the Hard Ground

Imagine our marriage is a garden. During the winter, the ground becomes hard, cold, and it seems like nothing will ever grow there again. Perhaps we are coming out of a season where there was distance, constant bickering over unwashed dishes, or simply a freezing silence in the car.

Surviving the marital winter is a massive achievement, but we cannot move in and live there forever. Reaching spring requires realizing that apathy and pain have left the soil of our relationship completely compacted. If we just toss new seeds onto hard ground, the birds of resentment will just eat them up.

This is where the least romantic but most necessary tool in the shed comes in: the plow of forgiveness. Forgiving the times we felt ignored or deeply hurt is what breaks up that dry dirt. It is hard work, it hurts, and it stirs up a lot of mess, but without a forgiving heart, there is nowhere to plant a fresh start.