I’ve been thinking a lot this week about something I wrote and spoke about years ago… power versus force.
And if I’m honest, I have lived on both sides of that line.
Force is when you grip the steering wheel too tight. When you try to fix it, push it, make it happen faster. When you think if you just work harder, press harder, hustle harder, you can bend life into shape.
Power is different.
Power stands steady. Power trusts timing. Power knows that growth does not respond to pressure… it responds to warmth.
In the kitchen, I can’t force a roast to cook faster without ruining it. I can’t rush bread without collapsing it. I can’t make spring show up just because I’m tired of winter.
And yet, every year, without fail… it comes.
That’s power.
This season feels like that. Still winter. Still coats. Still gray mornings. But you can feel something stirring underneath it all.
And I see it in this community.
I see it in Garden Club folks planting seeds they won’t see for weeks. In basketball teams practicing when nobody’s watching. In board meetings and Rotary lunches and Chamber events where people just keep showing up.
That’s not force. That’s power.
As we close out February, I’m not trying to shove March into existence. I’m just tending what’s in front of me. Cooking the food. Showing up to the meetings. Loving my people well. Trusting that what’s meant to bloom will bloom.
If you’ve been feeling like you’re pushing too hard lately… maybe this is your sign to soften your grip a little.
Let dinner be easy this week. Let the table hold you. Let the season unfold.
Spring is coming. Not because we forced it. But because it’s time.
And I am so grateful we get to walk these seasons together.
