‘The ice never has the final word’

By Eric Tucker, GLCC Chaplain

I look and see a marina in transition. The slips are still held by ice. The docks stand ready. The pilings remain steady. The water is not yet fully open—but it is no longer what it was. This is March.

March is not fully winter. March is not fully spring. March is the in-between season. There is something deeply spiritual about seasons in between.

At first glance, it may look like nothing is happening. The surface appears still, frozen, and quiet. But beneath that ice, movement has already begun. The thaw has started. Change is under way, even if it cannot yet be fully seen.

Life often brings us into these “March moments.” Moments when prayers have been prayed, but answers have not fully appeared. Moments when preparation has begun, but movement has not fully arrived. Moments when God is working beneath the surface, even when all we see is stillness.

Scripture reminds us in Ecclesiastes 3:1,

“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” March reminds us that seasons do change. The ice never has the final word.

For those of us who live and move on the water, we understand this truth deeply. We know that preparation happens before departure. Lines are checked. Systems are tested. Plans are made. The vessel may still be docked—but readiness is already under way.

This is what God often does in our lives. He prepares us before He releases us. He strengthens us before He sends us. He develops us in stillness before He moves us into motion.

What looks like delay is often divine preparation. The pilings in this image stand firm. They have endured wind, storms, and ice. They remain steady—not because conditions were always easy, but because they were built to last.

In the same way, God strengthens us to stand through every season. Some of you have come through difficult waters — uncertain seasons, unexpected storms, and moments of waiting. You may feel like you are still in winter. But March reminds us that winter does not last forever.

The thaw has already begun. God is already moving. Hope is already rising. New journeys are already forming. Even when you cannot yet leave the dock, God is preparing you for the voyage ahead.

Isaiah 43:19 declares, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”

March is the season where faith must see before the eyes can confirm. We trust not in what is visible, but in the God who controls the seasons. Soon, these slips will hold vessels again. Engines will start. Lines will be cast off. Journeys will begin anew.

And when that moment comes, we will realize that the waiting was not wasted.

It was preparation.

So in this month of March, I encourage you: Stand firm like the pilings. Trust God in the in-between season. Prepare your heart for what lies ahead.

Believe that open water is coming. Because it always comes.

Grace and peace