Winter for a believer is the poet’s promise of spring
The coming of winter is in one sense an ending. It is a time to reflect on one’s own advancing age and the age of the world. Both are moving inexorably toward a conclusion. The image of winter can merely be one of death. For many that is all it is. That is a very sad way to live—and die. In another sense, winter is a beginning. In its coldness and desolation the seeds of that beginning are held in readiness for the warming sun and the spring rain. Winter for a believer is the poet’s promise of spring.
Politicians talk about the new order of the world. It seems that after every major war people dream of a utopia. The new order that matters most is the order that divine love continues to bring to humankind. It must begin within us individually. If it is to be just, the world must have a heart. The heart that gives order and life is the heart of Jesus; it is he who builds true civilization where we can live in peace.
Prayer:
Whether my life be in its spring or winter, Lord, you see all of it in your eternity. Bring me to the new life in you which never ends. Let me be a sign of hope to others who are searching for hope.