Holding Onto Hope

This past week has teased me with whisperings of a spring that lies on the (hopefully) not so distant horizon.  

 

The birds have begun their cheerful song, and I rejoice in their morning music.  The temperature has become a tad milder, and the sun has shone more frequently, chasing away the doldrums of a dark and dreary winter.  Even the rain of yesterday was delightful, as it bespoke of the green yet to come.....

Alas, I awakened this morning to find my car once again covered in snow, and sighs escaped from the depths of my being.  At times, I think that spring is just around the corner, but as the month of March will have it, spring is,  whenever spring decides to descend upon us, and not a moment sooner. 

 

While I enjoy snow, and even snow storms, along with the crisp, often sharp air of winter, there is just something very uplifting about the coming of spring.  An atmosphere that brings hope to my soul.  All becomes new again........grayness  turns to luscious green.

  New growth, and  beginnings; an opportunity to crawl out of my self-imposed cocoon, venture forth into dappled sunlight, warm breezes and breathe in the air of hopeful expectation. 



Today's fresh covering of snow leaves me feeling somewhat deflated.  Hope dashes, as I wonder if spring will 'ever' get here.  All things being equal in this four season province, spring indeed will come to pass.  But watching from the sidelines, waiting for the mostly unseen,  has it's moments of despair.

 

As it happens,  everyday life itself can also be quartered into seasons. Moments where new life burgeons forth and hope springs eternal, along with other moments where the reality of life crashes down, flattening us, challenging us to hold onto that hope.

 

It is a matter of discipline for me to look beyond the often difficult things of life, to the truth that Christ reigns and so therefore all things will be made new (in the winter of life) - even me.   2 Cor. 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.   He is the one who provides all that I will need to get through the dreary days of feeling insecure, inadequate, lonely, and even by times, afraid. 

 

So I grasp the rope of hope as tightly as I'm able, and work on believing that God has his hands covering mine, holding onto me with a strength that far outweighs the puny strength of my tattered faith.

 

Spring...........will come!!