HOPING

Spring isn't quite ready to arrive in Santa Fe. It did warm up to 44 degrees today, but we have a couple of months to go before our trees and gardens come to life. However, it doesn't mean I can't enjoy some of those blossoms a bit early. I will clip a few offshoots from the apple tree and forsythia bush, bringing them into the house. Placing them into a vase of water, I will get to see them blossom, bringing a lovely color and fragrance into our home. It is a nice way to keep the spirits up, while the dreary weather lingers on. It leaves us with a sense of hope, of what is to come.
Hope is just what Christ wants us to have. I always think of Job and all he went through. There was one struggle or tragedy after another, but he continued to hope for better things to come. It took awhile, but because of his faith, never giving up, life did get better. The Psalms tell us of having hope in God, aiding us in good times and in bad. Psalm 31:24 tells us, “Be strong, be courageous, all you that hope in the Lord.” There is even the funny proverb, Proverbs 29:20, “There is more hope for a stupid fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.”
I love Romans 5:3-5, “We rejoice in our sufferings, know that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us.” Paul gives us an important message in Acts 23:6, “...Fellow Israelites ! I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees. I am on trial here because of the hope I have that the dead will rise to life!” How apropos, knowing that at the end of our Lenten season, our sorrow will turn to joy, as we celebrate Christ's resurrection.
The Bible uses the word 'hope' about 150 times. It has a powerful meaning, reminding us to always keep our faith, knowing that if God is in our lives, there is always hope.