Mud season for those who haven't experienced it is that time between winter and spring when the winter's grip is being broken and the ground begins to thaw, not into nice dirt but into dirt jelly.  It is what is happening today, encouraged by an abundance of rain here in SE CT (however not far from here to the north the land is being buried under wet snow, and mud season is going to come a little later).  As always this will be a sloppy and sticky time.  Mud will cling to our boots, tractors will bog into the mud soup if unadvisedly driven in the yard, and the ruts left behind will need to be filled in later this year.  This is a muddy but necessary and unavoidable part of winter-to-spring transition.  Even good roads are effected by this, heaving and sinking with the thaw. 

When we are moving from a winter season to a spring season in our lives, in our ministry or in our churches we often experience this same phenomena.  Instead of our desire for easy transitions, we find ourselves in one we didn't want or expect.  But each transition has these in-between stages, and knowing how to walk through them is paramount to our successful journey into a new fruitful day.  So here are some things that can help us through our "mud season".

1. Be patient, this too shall pass
2. Don't fight the mud, let the process take it's place, the ground will become solid under our feet
3. If we have already collected mud on our boots, take them off and clean them, don't track the mud around
4. Use the time for preparation for a great spring which will surely come rather than fretting about the mud
5. If we have to walk through a muddy field, let the Lord direct our steps, so we don't get stuck here
6. Step lightly, keep moving; this is not a time to stomp around in circles
7. Avoiding walking in the flesh and natural mind, this struggle will
   only lead to deeper mud experiences
8. Mud washes away with water, so stay in the Spirit and the Word and the mud will wash away

So I won't be going outside today to wallow in the mud because I know that soon, in the not so far distant future the mud will be gone and I can do what I need to do out there.  In the meantime, I think I will have another cup of coffee and do some reading.