I am not a huge fan of the season of Winter. I do not appreciate the dreary, cold days or the leaf-less trees or the shortened daylight hours. I seem to take on the nature of the weather in my outlook as I move through my day – stormy and grey.
One thing I look forward to is firstly the Winter Solstice as that signals the beginning of the days getting longer, and the next thing is the first day of Spring.
Something magically changes in my demeanour on the 1st September and life seems just that little more hopeful. The days have more colour and joy and people appear to smile more. It can’t be simply related to the weather, because I have enjoyed glorious Winter days and rainy and cold Spring days. So what is it that is buoying my soul?
There is a curse that descends with Spring too – a dreaded malady known as Hay Fever. Those of you who have suffered from this allergy based illness can appreciate how debilitating this can be and most of my family (myself included) are afflicted with this. Itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose, dry throat are constant reminders that Spring has sprung. Despite this negative, Spring is still something I eagerly anticipate.
Again, the question is, what is the joy associated with Spring? After some thought, I have reached the conclusion that the difference is the sense of hope that Spring brings.
Hope is such a powerful state of being. It is defined as an optimistic attitude of mind that is based on expecting a positive outcome of some description. That defines Spring for me. The world seems brighter and more positive in this season and that can almost literally put a ‘spring’ in my step.
When I searched for the word ‘hope’ in the Bible I found that it was mentioned 180 times! The God message for us is one of hope. Hope that there is more to life than just this time on earth. If this story of hope is something that you would like to know more about I would suggest you make contact with a church leader. I am sure they would love to explain it for you.
Spring is now here, so rejoice and pass the antihistamines and tissues!
Be blessed.
A Blessed Life 