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Lo and behold, it is here! It is finally here. We are not going straight from spring into winter again after all.

This week, we experienced breakup, the time when the earth is no longer covered with white snow.

It is a time of excitement, as we prepare for summer activities.

Our boats are going to be cleaned and prepared for the rivers and lakes.

We are getting our hiking boots out for walks through God’s creation.

Our camping gear is unpacked and cleaned, ready to secure us from the mosquitoes.

But hold on just a minute.

The view of breakup is both wonderful and not so wonderful.

There are treasures that have been buried for several months, and some of them are not very pretty.

As the snow slowly melts and uncovers the earth, the smell is not the most pleasurable, and neither are some of the sights.

In fact, if you are a dog musher, the sights are down right disgusting.

The pristine snow has covered up so many treasures, and now they are revealing themselves.

That is also true with our lives, too.

We have treasures of our own, some that are pretty, some that we would like to remain covered.

There are secrets that we would like to remain hidden beneath the pristine aspects of ourselves.

We show our best side in church, in schools, at work and in the community.

But there are times when the breakup happens in our lives, when those not-so-perfect treasures of ours are revealed.

When that happens, it can be difficult, even painful.

Luckily for us, we have a God who already knows about those secret treasures buried within us.

God sees both the pristine and the underlying muck of our lives.

Rather than making a public display of our hidden secrets or embarrassing us, God wishes to return us to wholeness.

God wishes to affirm us for who we are, imperfections, hidden treasures and all.

God recognizes that just as treasures are hidden during the winter, each one of us has hidden treasures in our lives.

Just as the breakup is going to transform winter into blossoming green spring, so too, God will transform us into new beauties through new life.

We can give thanks for the transformation that happens through the breakup of the city and the breakup in our lives.

Insight is sponsored by the Tanana Valley Christian Conference.

Holly Slater is intern pastor at Christ Lutheran Church.