Life in "the snowbelt" is taking its toll. It is physically wearing as I try to keep the driveway shoveled (the parsonage in Logansport has a large driveway). The extended cold and snow have run down my resistence . . . and I now have a bad cold--which fortunately, is getting better.
It is also emotionally wearing. December was a colder month than normal. I kept telling myself that since December had a lot of bitter cold days, then January and February would be milder--after all, isn't that the way it is supposed to work? Such was simply "wishful thinking" on my part. It seems as though there is no let-up. We are in the midst of three days whose high temperatures will not exceed 15 degrees. Tonight it is to dip down to -4 degrees.
The weather forcaster talked this morning about reaching the 50's next week. It has been so cold for so long that I cannot quite remember how a 50 degree day feels. It seems like almost too much to hope for, but I desperately long for it. What will it look like to see the huge piles of snow begin to melt away?
I have to admit that this is a fair analogy of many of our faith journeys. Life throws one difficult event after another at us. We keep waiting for a let-up so we can catch our breath . . . but, sometimes it seems as though the let-up is never going to come. We get battered by one "storm" after another. But, like the warmer temperatures predicted for next week, faith tells us that the best is yet to come . . . even though we can't quite imagine it. "Hold on just a little bit longer, and it'll all be over." That's what weire told . . . now to do it . . . to believe . . . to anticipate . . . to hope.
