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Across the Pastor’s Desk by Josh Enderson

We’ve reached that point of winter when it can be hard to hold on to hope. We know in our minds that spring is on the way, that green grass and leafy trees will be back. But somehow the reality of the weather report blocks that springtime hope from our minds.

This is the time of year when the weather plays games with us and only makes things worse. There can be a string of warm days. The snow starts to melt. People are spending more time outside in lighter coats. Everyone seems happier. But then it changes in an instant. Winter returns with several inches of snow and ice and everyone pulls out the snowblowers once again. It can be hard to hold on to hope when things change so quickly.

Life throws us moments like this, too. We’ve all been through times when everything is going great, only to get that phone call that changes everything: an unexpected medical diagnosis, a relationship falls apart, a life passes away. It all comes crashing down in an instant. It can be hard to hold on to hope in these moments.

For some, it doesn’t change this drastically. Maybe we go through life experiencing all the normal ups and downs, but the monotony and duty of it all slowly wears us down. One day we wake up and think about our life up to that point: What is it all about? What does it all mean? We watch the snows come and the thaws come, and life goes on and on, and we do our part. But have we found life amid life? It can be hard to hold on to hope in these times too.

We all come today from a different place: in a good place or a place of struggle, amid a sudden change in life or reflecting on where the winds of life have brought us. But, regardless of where we find ourselves, we know that the God of hope is here. He is here to give us meaning when it all seems meaningless. He is there to pick up the pieces and rebuild a life when our life falls apart. He is there to keep the light of hope lit when we struggle to hold on to it ourselves, especially when we might find it easier to give into fear and hatred.

Because we know that spring will come. We know that love wins over hatred. We know that life overcomes death. Because that is the hope of God to which we cling.

Josh Enderson is pastor at Hayward-Trondhjem Lutheran churches.