Spring

Hope sleeps, appearing dead
beneath brown withered grass and leaves.
Skies are forever gray,
hard as steel, unyielding and unforgiving.
Grace seems far away, never to come, out of reach.
Hope is frustrated, holding its breath.
It wakes each day,
straining for a glimpse of green or yellow or purple,
a sign of life.

Still, Hope hangs on to longer days,
anticipating restoration and renewal
…maybe tomorrow or the next day.
Faith holds hope together.
In Faith, Hope can believe
that new life will appear as it has every year,
but when?
Hope longs for freedom from frozenness.

And then one day a ray of sun breaks through the steely sky
giving Hope the courage to breathe,
the freedom to move.
With renewed strength, Hope bends down
and brushes away brown, crackling leaves
to reveal tiny green leaves
with faces of most amazing yellow and purple.
Warmth replaces cold,
green replaces brown,
beauty replaces barrenness
and life replaces death.

Grace comes.

Faith is blessed.

Hope rejoices.