There’s light streaming in through the living room window from the fading western sky. The open petals of my purple tulips are translucent, holding shadows of the pistils through their delicate fingers.
The sun makes it feel warmer than it is. In truth, we’ve continued to wait for warmer weather. For flowers blooming, for the hope of life in bloom that’s crawling to us.


Buds are now coming up on trees and bushes, some more ready than others. There are still branches pretty bare; they will take their own time to come into season.
Our healing is not the same; some of us will move more quickly, an overnight blooming in a sense. Others of us will take a little longer, slowly working through the pace our bodies, minds, and souls need. For the latter, it may get disheartening, as it seems like we don’t see any change at all, and peel our eyes on our own inner branches, looking for any sign of spring.
It’s there, though. Keep believing. Keep looking. Spring is coming to your heart; yes, a spring heart is attainable, as we fall on the One who unfurls and introduces each season in due time.
Spring is coming to my heart and mind. I continue to tell myself this, fill my head with fact as I look at traces of healing, God’s faithfulness, along these lonely months.
My eyes are fixed on these tulips like a lifeline; willing the sun to stay, spread its rays in my heart. We care about what’s coming, and I’m calling on the hope to come.
God keeps bringing the flowers and the birdsong and the brighter days to tell me to hold on.
Let us hold on.
Spring is coming. Our hearts and minds will mend again.
There’s Always Grace,
Sarah
Book Update
Final edits are turned in, and we have a cover along with the exciting news that All the Hard Things is available on Amazon! Stay tuned for a special email where you all get the first look at the cover and pre-order before anyone else. :)
Recommendation and Giveaway
Congratulations to Shelley Pearson for winning last month’s book, A Prayer Journal!
Strong and Secure by Lynn Cowell and Michelle Nietert
My friend Lynn co-wrote this devotional book for young women aimed at anchoring them securely in Father God’s love. Lynn has a heart for young women and to lead them into the heart of God, and this devotional holds to the characteristics of God to learn more deeply about who He is. This makes a great graduation gift!
**If you’d like the book, hit Reply to the email and put “Giveaway” in the subject line. One random winner will receive a copy!
Published Pieces
Let’s Look Up - Proverbs 31
Winding my rental car through sharp turns and steep inclines, I make my way north through the Great Smoky Mountains. The sun glares on my windshield, and I squint before pulling down the visor to meet the ruffled lines of tree-covered mountains jutting into the sky. I’m from the Midwest, and while I'm familiar with the beauty of the Great Lakes, there’s something otherworldly to me about majesty made from mountains.
But sometimes I struggle to lift my eyes off of the mountains in my life: the never-ending bills and financial strain, the push and pull of dynamics that disrupt my day, and the tug of my heart that yearns for more in the middle of the mundane.
Later that night, when I’m swaying in a green rocking chair on a wide porch, my eyes rise to the mountains lined with the lush greenery of spruce and pine.
How often do we overlook the miraculous things right in front of us because we don’t have the right perspective? We look down at ourselves, disappointed by what we have or haven’t done. We look around at our problems, working ourselves up, trying to figure out the next move.
Patience in the Pain - Crossmap
When we don’t feel good, when we’re in the middle of a sticky relational situation, or emotionally empty, it can be incredibly difficult to see what God is doing in the moment. Our sight becomes foggy, and we question whether He’s truly with us in our pain. Our perception clouds the deeper into our hurt we get, and our faith is refined when we don’t see any improvement. The last thing we want to do when we are facing trials is to wait in the middle of it and endure the discomfort.
We wonder what is going on, but God is doing a deeper work while we wonder. While we wait, our patience grows.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4
It doesn’t seem to make sense: how can we consider suffering joy? How can we grin and bear it when it hurts just to breathe?
The Best Yes - FCA.org
It’s a simple word with the potential for extensive amplification.
Yes.
A nudge to act. A call to respond. A step of faith. This is the adventure and uncertainty of yes.
You don’t know what will happen when you give your time, your words and your resources to the Kingdom of God. You may never see the fruit of the seeds you sow. But life change can happen later, and the reverberation of impact can extend far beyond what could ever be imagined.
For Marion (Joiner) Yarber, a young mother and English teacher with a heart for Jesus in Lawrence County, Tenn., her availability to be used by God started in 1980 when she learned about a ministry that met young athletes with the good news of Jesus. When Steve Robinson, then the FCA Tennessee Director, brought FCA to her town of Lawrenceburg, Marion became the FCA faculty sponsor at Lawrence Country High School.
She and other volunteers raised money for FCA Camp scholarships through breakfasts, bake sales and direct donations. That summer, Marion and a few other volunteers packed students and suitcases into vehicles and drove miles through the mountains to the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly nestled in Black Mountain, N.C. They weren’t sure what was waiting for them on the mountain, but they were ready.
Connect with Me
I’d love to hear from you - send me an email at sarahefreymuth@gmail.com to say hi, share a thought that’s on your heart, and let me know how to pray for you. You can connect with me on my social handles, as well: