May – the very pinnacle of Spring! The gusty winds of March have blown away winter’s ice and cold. The showers of April have softened the earth, preparing the way for new growth. Tender, more gentle breezes warm blossoms and buds into flower.
The landscape has transformed!
Gone now the empty grey tree limbs, the dull brown lawn strewn with dead and withered leaves. For May has painted it all in bright shades of green, displaying a palette of colour which delights the heart and lifts the spirit!
There is a reason why philosopher Bernard Williams says… “The day the Lord created Hope, was probably the same day He created Spring.” For that is what this season offers us. Hope, with its promise of something better; or at the very least, a more preferable circumstance than present.
It’s a tough world we live in. One filled with unprecedented and challenging situations. Events we never could have foreseen or predicted.
Who of us ever thought we’d need to navigate our way through a world-wide pandemic? So many lives lost, or forever changed as a result. War and conflict raging in far too many places across the globe. Inhumanity running wild, and sadly unchecked.
And here at home, our way of life as we’ve always known it, is now endangered by those who feed off power and greed. Respect for the sanctity of life; for the rules of law and order, which have heretofore guaranteed our safety and well-being, are trampled into dust. Truth is lost in a sea of lies. Those who feed off power and greed erode our security. And so many innocent ones have, and are, needlessly suffering as a result. The so-called ‘milk of human kindness’ has curdled and turned sour.
Then there are the personal challenges we face; job-related issues, health problems, serious illness. Further complicated by bureaucratic tactics designed to stall and deny what is desperately needed. Industries driven more by profit, rather than the safety and well-being of those they were called to serve.
And as time moves on, we begin experiencing ever increasing instances of loss and grief, which weigh upon our hearts and spirits. We are learning all too well the fragility of life. To where some days, simply getting out of bed in the morning is viewed as a victory!
Is it any wonder then we welcome the arrival of spring, the season of renewal and rebirth? A tangible symbol of Hope! Something we can actually see and feel, or hold in our hand. Because given the above circumstances swirling around our lives, we have a need to know that it will indeed get better, or become more manageable.
That life will not always feel the way it does at this very minute. And so, we rejoice at the coming of spring. Ever reminding us that winter, be it in nature… or in our lives… will not last forever. That regardless, spring always comes in some form or another. And because of this – Hope need never fail.
Genesis 8:22 tells us…
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter,
day and night will never cease.”
God has promised this, and it is not to be taken lightly.
What it comes down to… God is aware, and knows what you experience and fear. When you hold onto Hope, you are really holding onto God’s Hand, as He reaches out to steady and guide you. In grasping that Hand, you find the strength needed to see the night through to the sunrise of tomorrow. And within that tomorrow, always lies the possibility – the hope – of something better and brighter than whatever dark you feel today.
May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Romans 15:13)
The Holy Spirit… your help and Comforter.
So you need never walk through the dark alone.