March is a month of hope. Some people focus on madness, but I am looking for signs of hope.
I planted iris and tulip bulbs in late fall, and I believe my yard will burst with color soon. The signs of hope are already there.
Last week one of the students in my youth Bible study appeared to be napping and not listening to the lesson. This week that same student quoted verbatim the theme of the lesson. Some seeds must have fallen on fertile soil. I took it as a hopeful sign.
I recently received a message from a former English student who told me she had been reading Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales of Shakespeare to her young children. Her six-year-old son was especially enjoying King Lear!
“I wanted you to know,” she said, “that you planted a seed.” What a wonderful legacy and harvest! Yes, the signs of hope are there.
In Glenys Nellist’s book Little Mole Finds Hope (illustrated by Sally Garland), a young mole sees only the darkness surrounding his burrow. When his mother sees his sadness, she tells him, “Hope is hiding in the darkness. Sometimes it’s hard to see. But it’s always there.”
Little Mole’s mama shows him a beautiful daffodil that has pushed its way out of the dark earth. She helps him envision the bright green leaves of the newly budding trees. She also shows him a chrysalis that will soon break open to release a beautiful butterfly.
When Little Mole takes his focus off the darkness, he finds hope. The signs are there; he just needs to look for them. In the end, Little Mole says, “Now I know that there’s always hope, even in the darkest places.”
When we take our focus off the darkness, we, too, can find hope.
I can relate to Little Mole’s feelings of sadness. It’s been a long fall and winter, but I have the assurance that spring is fast approaching.
The seeds of hope are getting ready to sprout. I believe they’ve been taking root and will soon burst into bloom. I know my garden will grow. Hebrews 11:1 reminds me that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.”
Miraculous things are happening all around us. Cardinals flock to our feeders, tufts of green grass grow here and there, and daylight lasts longer than the day before.
We can trust God to do something special with the seeds we have planted, and He will give us signs that those seeds have taken root.
So try planting some seeds of hope today. Leave a legacy. Focus on the light, not the dark. Look for the good, not the bad. Imagine the possibilities!
If you are down and weary and troubled, allow the One Who Gives Hope to raise you up above the darkness. Allow Him to show you the beauty above the baseness.
Take a moment to bask in that beauty as you listen to the song “You Raise Me Up” by Brendan Graham (performed by Josh Groban).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oni0tO_HN30&w=560&h=315]
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” —Romans 15:13
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair.” –J. R. R. Tolkien
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”–Emily Dickinson
Psalm 130:5; Ecclesiastes 11; John 1:5; Galatians 6:7
j-thanks.bb