Opinion/Resources/Teen Perspective

By Teen Opinion Contributor Maggie Verdught

Photos: Pixabay

“April showers bring May flowers.”  It’s a cliché that’s not always true, especially in the Midwest. Here, April can be a roiling season of false winters, followed by a short, two-day spring or summer.

Thankfully, this year has been a little better. At least, the weather has danced in our faces the way in which I prefer. Storm clouds rise, and the sky grows dark. Humidity grows thick in the air and it feels as though it is soaking our skin. Rain begins to fall. I love how it sounds – like music, as it swells and sprinkles.

I love alliterations and allegories. There is a strong allegory (perhaps this is not necessarily biblical in every way, but it’s insightful and not wholly inaccurate) of the rain and the seasons. We long for spring and summer, but we must endure the autumn and winter in order to get there. We long to feel the warmth and see the beauty in those seasons, but we must endure the cold and see the darkness first.

Although it is now late April, this teetering, in-betweenness is real. Sometimes it is frustrating! Where is the sun? Where are the flowers? And still, we must wait.

It fascinates me to watch how God’s creation always seems to open itself back up, every year, to flourish with the heat and the rain. Rainbows are even a picture of the in-betweenness of April. They are the result of nature dancing between two states of being. They must occur between the sun and the rain. There’s no other way to experience that beauty!

One thing about this in-betweenness is that it’s not certain. It’s unpredictable, even when we try to predict it. Storm clouds can come fast and fierce; we run to find shelter, because we don’t want to get wet. It can be dangerous to stay out in the storm, and we can become afraid.

Economics is a required course at my school, and I am very much enjoying this semester-long endeavor. We recently learned about the concept of economic business cycles. In the United States, we rotate through three “seasons”: recession, recovery, and prosperity. It never changes. In a season of prosperity, we know that there are worse things to come. But we don’t despair, because we know that we will recover from whatever storms come our way.

We walk into the storms of life, armed with the proper clothing and attitude in order to face them. After the storm, everything feels hazy, misty, foggy, and wet. It feels as though the storm wants to cling to us. Yet, if we have worn the proper clothing and held the right attitude throughout the storm, we will mostly stay dry. It will take time to get dry, but the sun will come again. And one is never completely dry, in fact; moisture lives in the air!

The uncertainty of April is a picture of the uncertainty of our lives. The American economic business cycle is a picture of our lives. God has not forgotten his children. In the storms of life, as we walk through difficult valleys and experience the deep brokenness of this world, we know that we are not alone. We who are God’s children have hope in the light and joy of Christ. We know that Jesus walked through the darkest, most lonely storm of death and separation from God. He did this in order to be with us.

April brings anticipation. We’re close, but not quite there yet. School is still in full swing, yet us students can feel the warmth of summer breathing on our faces, slowly but surely.

I pray that the in-betweenness of April not only leaves us hungry for true spring and summer, but that it reminds us of Jesus. When May flowers come, may we be reminded of what our Savior has done to bring us back to life in Him.

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. 

Nahum 1:7 (ESV)

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Maggie VerDught is a high school student who enjoys learning about culture, news, and politics.

She is passionate about sharing the truth, especially with her generation. Maggie loves to run, read, and write poetry in her spare time.

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