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.

Laughing at the Smallest of Things

I got an e-mail today, which got me laughing. It wasn’t just a smile, it was out loud laughter.  We tend to take life seriously so often, forgetting the lighter things of life. What was so funny about this e-mail was that it wasn’t a joke, but truly a realistic scene. As I responded to this e-mail, it reminded me of a time in my life.  This brought more laughter. So often, we look at the serious issues in life.  We forget how important laughter is.   I showed my husband the e-mail I had received earlier In the day, and he, too, broke out into laughter.  He had come into our living room a bit stressed from the day, but he couldn’t help but laugh, out loud, when he saw the e-mail.

I responded to this e-mail with a story of my own, which brought more laughter.  How often do we forget to laugh, only looking at the serious things in life!  I love to laugh: it is a great way to think about what is happening in the moment.  I don’t intentionally plan a piece of humor, it just happens.  It must be a gift from God, to enjoy the lighter part of life. 

Others have asked me how I can laugh when my own health isn’t the best. I say it is a blessing from God.  I love to laugh and I love to share a personal experience with others, which cannot help but bring laughter, My life is one of the unexpected.  This has been true since junior high. It is great to greet what happens with a sense of humor.  I remember sharing with someone I had hardly knew no more than a day, “You won’t believe what happened to me once..., “ she burst into laughter, saying she would believe anything I  was about to say. It is a great approach to life; instead of saying ‘oh no…,’  you say, ‘oh, well…”

No, life isn’t always full of laughter.  But, those little things in life can bring us a smile instead of a frown.  We can only picture Christ, imagining His smile, rather than a frown, as we work through our tiny hurdles in life!

Kairos

In my different readings, I am often reminded of 'Kairos.'  This is a Greek word, referring to time.  How do we use our time?  Is it always so busy we forget to make a moment to ourselves? We need to make that time, as this is when we can sit back, breathe in, shut our eyes, and think of nothing but of God the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit.  All are intertwined, living as separately but as one, just as we have our parts of the body, but the head is what keeps us together. We must take this time to let the Holy Spirit come visit us, to strengthen us, giving us courage to attack our busy lives.  We will find we are content, able to face the world, because of taking the time to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.