Recently I reread Kathleen Norris' book Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. Like all good books, it spoke me to me in new ways on second reading.

For example, Norris cites a woman who knows how things work in that part of the world. The woman tells her the truth about winter wheat. She says, "Well, you seed it in September. And it comes up right away. Then it dies back down and you hope fo a good snow cover. If there's been enough moisture it comes back up in April, around Easter."

What holds true for winter wheat in the Dakotas applies to church and us as well. Here is how spiritual formation works. God, in effect, takes us and scatters us like seed. He may scoop us up through encounters with the scriptures, worship, or others. However he gets his hands on us, he then sows us like seed strewn on a Dakota field in autumn.

If all goes well, some of the seed sprouts. We start to change, or at least we start to desire that we might be transformed to conform more nearly to the mind of Christ. A bit of green, so to speak, pokes up from the soil. This is a good thing, but we must take care not to confuse a fine beginning with a harvest. Almost always, we "die back," go dormant, and wait in hope for what might happen next.

Snow is the hope of winter wheat. A good cover of snow provides both shelter and moisture thoughout the winter months. When spring finally comes, the new wheat starts to grow once again and promises to provide a fine havest. For us, a good winter and snow means that we are given time to be still and receive spiritual nourishment.  At the right time, God's Spirit triggers our next growth spurt, a run toward enhanced spiritual maturity, a move toward the harvest.

Our culture favors self-generated, fast-moving pathways to spiritual results. We like to think in terms of the "fast track," whether we are speaking of careers, relationships, church, or a personal relationship with God. Perhaps we would be better advised to embrace the image of wheat sown in a field in late fall, wheat resting beneath a cover of snow, wheat emerging around Easter nourished and ready to grow.