Hope on the way

Thursday in the First Week of Lent

The Lord, the God of gods, has spoken;
he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Psalm 50:1

I step outside after a zillion zoom meetings and discover unexpected warmth. The weather is practically balmy. After weeks of snow and unseasonable cold for this region, I’m almost wary. Is this a real thaw? Can I allow myself to believe?

Today is the first day that I can actually taste the possibility of spring. Of course, I know spring inevitably comes, but I have been holding my expectation at bay. In some fashion, I have equated the coming of spring with the ending of the pandemic. And this pandemic road has been too long and too tumultuous for me to think it will give way easily. Or soon.

But hope that is seen is not hope, St. Paul reminds us. And ultimately, I am a person of hope and joy. The warmth, the melting snow, the sunshine do carry the promise of a spring that cannot yet be seen but is truly on its way. Winter will end. Vaccines will get distributed. People will emerge from isolation. Our God who calls the earth from its rising to its setting will call forth new life. I can lean into the afternoon sunshine and the hope of abundance with assurance.

Image by Olya-02 from Pixabay