Season of Hope

 

                                                 (Picture from the internet)

 Winter is a time of snowflakes, snowball fights, red noses and rosy cheeks. Building snowmen, sledding and coming inside to hot cocoa with marshmallows floating on top. The surprise of how each snowflake is completely different from the next. The ground covered in a white blanket of snow, the pond frozen over for skating, the snow coming down so hard you can hardly see out the windows. Fond winter memories each person holds dear from the winter before, while making new ones for the coming year. Bundled up so you can hardly move. Grey skies, cold wind, and frosty breath. But inside is always warm and cozy. You are snug as a bug while a storm outside is brewing.

The season of winter can be a gloomy, dark, cold, hard time in both life and weather. Sometimes the winter days feel like they will never come to an end; they are so long and you want to see a change, you want warmth. You want green grass and sunshine, gentle breezes and good times. Those days feel so far off, almost like a distant dream. Those days will come again; they always do. Just like sometimes the hard days seem never-ending; they are so dark and you want a light at the end of the tunnel. You want rest from all this. You want happiness and laughter, peace and joy, and good days ahead. Those days feel far off, like a dream that has never happened. But I promise you it wasn't just a dream; they were real. I promise they will happen again.

I love this verse "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5. It's  a great reminder of how no matter what darkness we might be struggling with, there is always light and the dark will never put that light out. And if the struggle is with the devil, Jesus and His light are so much more powerful.

Winter can be a time of hopelessness and darkness, of depression and hard times. Yet there is hope and a light in the darkness. Jesus takes our hands, He holds us, He carries us through the hard stuff, through the dark. He is always close when you need Him.

In the darkness The Light was born!

This is the time of year that Jesus came down to earth to be with us, close to us. And now He is still close, always. I hope this Christmas you feel Him near, close by your side. Because He is there, always.

I love the Scripture verse "Come now, let's settle this," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool."  This verse makes me think of why Jesus came down to earth in the first place, to save us, to cover our sins and turn them from stains to pure white. This is what I think about when I see the snow fall in the winter. I think about this verse and why Jesus came. 

I love that during the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus there is snow on the ground and sometimes snow falling as its a special reminder of the reason Jesus came. When the ground is covered in a blanket of white snow, it makes me think of how Jesus covers our sins making them white as snow. When the snow is falling so fast and thick so you can hardly see it makes me think of how Jesus pours his grace over us when we mess up. He both covers us and offers us grace in abundance. His grace is like a warm thick white blanket that covers us and offers us a fresh start. This is why I love winter and the snow. I personally hope for a beautiful white Christmas.

Speaking of beauty, have you ever heard of winter roses? There are about fifteen different species of winter roses, a class all their own. Roses in full bloom out in the cold, covered in snow. Despite the  cold they still manage to bloom and their colors stand out bright against the white snow. Beautiful and strong, a good reminder of how even we can bloom in the hard, dark times that we endure. Maybe it is actually those times that allow us to grow and fully bloom. Yes, sometimes during these times we end up with scars, but remember roses have thorns and yet, they are still beautiful. Our scars are like the thorns of the rose. It is no different. If a rose can bloom and survive the cold winter, we can grow, bloom and survive the difficult times. When you go through difficulties you come out the other side stronger, with more understanding of others who have been through the similar experiences. You find a community of people who have been through hard, dark times and you can help each other. 

This past year has been a hard one for me; I walked through the hardest time I've ever been through. I've struggled with depression and anxiety, what felt like the valley of the shadow of death; but even there, God was with me, even though half the time I couldn't tell. It was like He wasn't really there, but He was. It's like being in a dark tunnel and you hear there's a light at the end, but you don't believe it because you can't see it. But the tunnel has twists and turns; it bends around a curve here and there, then all of a sudden you come around a bend and you see a light at the end. You realize that its always been there, you just couldn't see it because of the different twists in your path. Now suddenly you have hope, the light! Same with the dark times and grey skies when you can't see the sun. The sun is there; you just can't see it on the other side of the clouds.

Depression isn't any fun, I know. It feels like you're drowning while watching others swim, you're in a dark hole or tunnel with no light, you're in a storm with strong winds, heavy rain and no shelter, you're trapped and can't get out, you're having a bad dream and can't wake up. But you're actually not drowning, you're just to tired to swim anymore against the current, so now is the time that God carries you to shore. You're not in a tunnel or hole with no light, you just can't see it because of the turns; and this is the time God leads you because you can't see. When you're in the storm, God is your shelter; He is the calm in the storm. You're not trapped. You will make a breakthrough. Now is the time that God is holding you. When you can't sleep, God is your rest. The bad dream will end because God is your peace. I know this isn't always easy to remember; I still struggle to remember this. But I can promise you that it gets better, especially leaning into Jesus. He never leaves when you're walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

There's hope, there's rest for your souls. Jesus came down to earth to be our light, to show us the way, to bring us out of the dark. Because sometimes when you're in the dark, you can't find the light; so this time, the Light came down and found us. Now we have hope and a light ever before us if we have Jesus.

You will find the light at the end of the tunnel because its there, I promise. 

This is the season of our Savior and Light. This is the season of Hope!

May your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you feel the Savior, Hope and Light of the world close to you this year. 

Much love,

Esther