Holes

I had a meeting across campus Wednesday morning. Meetings are rarely on my agenda, but when they are, I usually enjoy the walk to and from the various campus locations. Not so on Wednesday. On the way back to my office, the blustery weather was miserable. The wind roared and the December air delivered the promise of bone chilling cold. As I hurried across the parking lot toward my building, I noticed a pair of colleagues from our Physical Plant grounds crew. They had just pulled out a group perennials from a planting area and were using a power tool to dig holes. In those holes they were placing bulbs. Bulbs that will spring forth with new life in a few short months.

On the brink of this winter season, spring and warm weather were the farthest things from my mind. Instead, the guarantee of a long, dreary winter consumed my thoughts. And yet here, in front of me, was a sign of spring. Of new life. Of hope.

Isn't it easy to be that way with life too? To be consumed with the dreary heaviness of our current situation? Sickness. Disease. Loss. Financial hardship. It's extremely easy to stay in the muck and mire of life's crud. We only focus on the roaring wind of adversity. Heartache and hardships are very real, but redirecting our gaze changes the bleak, winter landscape to one of vibrant, lush greenery.  Right in front of us, hidden in the holes of life, lies the hope that comes from living with a simple trust in Jesus.

One of the most precious verses in the Bible comes from Romans 15:13 -

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."