Skip to main content

Hope


 It's been cloudy here a lot lately. Weird temperature fluctuations have me wondering each morning what to wear. There's been lots of rain and not one snowflake all winter. It's quite depressing. But there is a glimmer of hope. The warmer weather today means my walk won't be encumbered by a heavy hat and mittens that I don't know whether to keep on or take off. Hope works that way. 

But lately, I feel like I am clinging on to hope, sometimes it's more like clawing onto it, my fingernails clutching any glimmer of hope. Watching the news, worried about everything, seeing the clouds of smoke over Ohio that some think will just go away, I grasp for whatever lifeline is thrown my way. When I feel this way, I'm reminded that I need to let up a little because what I'm really holding onto is the fear. Part of hope is seeking it, part of hope is praying, and part of it is acting. I can do each of these things and each step gets me closer to realizing what I hope for. I can also accept God's grace which fills me with hope. 

I think the purpose of Lent is that we hold these two things in juxtaposition: fear and hope. We are sad, and we are needy. We fear the unknown, the lack that we feel. With hope, we know that we will be happy again, we know that the trials won't last forever. 

Today I hope you find what you have been hoping for. 

Here is an image from Emily Lex, a wonderful painter out of Seattle, who I follow and who sends these beautiful images for your phone wallpaper. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connecting

Often we hear about how important it is to grow, stretch our wings, reach out. I've heard from astrology friends that the planets are aligned in a new way right now and that this is an incredible time to bring new things into our lives. But what? you ask. What am I trying to do, what am I trying to grow toward? The only way to answer that is to be grounded, to be deeply rooted in who we are. Then we'll know where to grow, how to grow, and what we need.  So how do we get there? First, we have to go back to what we wanted as young 20-somethings. What were you dreaming of then? How has your life matched those goals? How has it veered off course? Are there dreams that have been dormant? Just lingering beneath the surface? When we connect back to our truest selves, the ones that existed before kids, before marriage, before time and life took a toll on us, what does that self still yearn for? Going back to our roots, connecting to our inner child, our inner voice will encourage us to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Seeds

 Last night I ran to Target to get lettuce for Taco Tuesday. It wouldn't be the same if we didn't have tacos and I didn't want to disappoint Charlie. Charlie doesn't even live here right now, but for some reason, it is important to continue these traditions and be able to tell him that we had Tacos on Tuesday.  Anyway, in Target there was a whole display of seed packets, brightly colored, shiny packets, with pictures of everything from Okra to peas to sunflowers to Sweet Williams. I stood there a moment holding my lettuce. The packets were nicely organized and so appealing. The sun in the pictures made the flowers glisten just so. It's hard to believe these little envelopes could contain so much goodness inside.  I know we've heard this analogy before - water that which you want to grow , and plant seeds of kindness, but for some reason last night it struck me differently. Sometimes it's messy. My garden right now is a mess. We removed the old tomato plants...
Post a Comment
Read more

Extra Layers

 I love this time of year, the After time. Don't get me wrong. I love the holidays too. Having the kids home for weeks and sharing their daily lives again is awesome. I love the decor and the celebrations and the food and even all the preparation in the kitchen and in the stores, collecting and gathering and creating. It's wonderful - the most wonderful time of the year. But what I really appreciate is this After time of year, the time after the grandiose holidays and the days before the spring air begins to breeze in. Winter - the Heart of Winter. The cold wind blows. The sun is low. The days are short. I don't even mind the darkness, it's a good excuse to go to bed early and wrap myself in books and tea and a heating pad. (I can't help it - I'm not young anymore.) And what calls to us is extra layers. Extra blankets on the bed. Extra sweaters and woolen mittens. Thick socks and furry slippers. A cozy wrap, a long scarf. Oatmeal in the morning. A bowl of hot so...
4 comments
Read more