Tag: faith

Unstoppable

Unstoppable: In the Face of Hardship – The Greening Family, Part 2

Last week we posted the first part of an interview with Anita Greening and her family. Anita is fighting ovarian cancer and describes their determination to serve God in the midst of suffering in this poignant second part of the series.

You and your family have exhibited a strong faith in the face of crushing hardships.

Please tell us about your faith journey:

What have you had to give to God? What is He teaching you through your recent trials, both individually and as a family?

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Faith in God is what has carried us through every difficulty we have faced. God has been our strength, our comfort, our encouragement, and our life. Our trials truly began ten years ago in 2004 when my husband and I worked for the same company. This company suddenly closed due to an insurance glitch, and we were both without a job. After months of looking for work in my hometown, we ended up selling a lot of our possessions and moving to Waxahachie, Texas, where my husband was attending Bible college. We hoped that in moving so near to Dallas, he would be able to find a good job.

It didn’t happen. After spending nearly a year there, we moved to our current town in Arkansas. Jobs have been hard to find here as well. It has been very difficult financially for our family for many years. Still, God has been faithful and has sustained us. We have learned what it is like to be fed day by day, from God’s hand to our mouths. We have learned to be content with what we have and to take one day at a time with God’s help. We have had to go deeper in faith and trust than we ever imagined going.

Peanut Butter and Two Loaves of Bread

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I remember a couple of weeks when my husband was traveling due to his job that the girls and I lived off of a jar of peanut butter and two loaves of bread. There were no funds for food and that was all we had. We thanked God for it and for his provision.

My husband finished his Bachelor’s degree, and I too obtained a degree as a Radiological Technologist. His degree in church administration did not help us in our new location, and unbeknownst to be at the time, there were so many radiologic technologists in our state that finding a job was extremely difficult. To this day, I haven’t worked in this field. It has been a huge disappointment.

Also during this time, my husband lost his mother to a long-endured battle with lymphoma cancer. It was heartbreaking and so painful! I too lost my dad, who also suffered from bladder cancer and congestive heart failure. We were all grieving.


After being diagnosed with cancer in January of 2013, I was traveling back and forth to Little Rock, Arkansas for treatment. It is about an hour and 15 minutes drive one way. We had one car and it was very old. It gave out and wasn’t worth fixing nor did we have the funds to fix it. We went three months without a vehicle. It was hard. We borrowed and shared my mother’s car which she graciously allowed us to use on a daily basis. After finally purchasing another more reliable vehicle, we were hopeful that things would get better.

 

We were in shock! How could this have happened? What were we going to do now? We prayed. We sought God. It seemed God was silent. With all that we had, we continued to pray, give tithes and offerings to God with what we had left, and keep trusting in Him.  My husband worked on finding another job, and I began to have more health difficulties. It was in that same month that I began to notice what I thought were symptoms of the ovarian cancer once again.

 
 

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My husband began to take on my daily work load in the house, as well as continuing to look for work, working on his Master’s Degree through distance education, taking care of Samuel, and many other tasks. Matthew for awhile was angry about the cancer returning. He felt that I had been through enough and that our family had too. He became quiet and withdrawn for awhile as he worked on his feelings about all that was going on. So much has occurred in our family over the last ten years, it sometimes seems overwhelming! Matthew looked to God through prayer, the Bible, church, and Christian music. He has a strong faith in God and in God’s ability to heal. He prays for me daily and almost nightly lays a hand on me and prays for my health before going to sleep. Also, Matthew continues to lead our family to church and leads me in communion almost daily. As he works on his Master’s Degree in Licensed Professional Counseling, he works on helping our children deal with all the heartaches, pain, and sickness that our family has been through over a ten year period.

 

Matthew, as his name means, has been a gift from God to me and our family.

 

God has been ever present during our difficulties. We have seen him in simple things like the joy and laughter in our children’s faces, a gentle breeze and just the beauty of nature. We have felt his presence during prayer, in the midst of our tears, and in those times we just felt we could go no further and then there would suddenly be strength to keep going. We knew the strength came from Him. We have seen God at work through prayers and encouragement from friends and family. People from all over have prayed for me and my family.

 

It is humbling. It seems our lives are transparent and open before the world. That has been a big adjustment for me as I have always been a private type of individual. So many people have sent cards, notes, gifts and even financial help. Yes, God has been there through it all. Through the fear, the pain, the tears, the heartache, the financial problems, the loss, the disappointments, there was God. We know that everything we have faced and are currently enduring was allowed for a divine reason. My prayer is that good comes from it and that God will be glorified through it. We hold onto Jeremiah 29:11 that says,” For I know the plans that I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.”

 

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We believe that “All things work together for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His promise” Romans 8:28. We as a family are thankful. We are thankful to God and his goodness to us. He is for us, and who (or what) can be against us? Where there is God, there is life….spiritual life, physical life, financial life, abundant life. We may not see it all at this time, but we know He is the source, and we believe in Him.  We know that His goodness and mercy is following us all the days of our lives (Psalm 23). Thank you God!

Next Thursday: Unstoppable, Part 3

Visit the Greening Family here:

The Greening family continues to have crushing medical bills as Anita and Hannah fight for their health. Please visit their gofundme site and consider making a donation to help ease their burden.

The Greening  Family’s Donation Page:  http://www.gofundme.com/thegreeningfamily

 

 

 

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Unstoppable

Unstoppable: The Greening Family, Part 1

Today I am honored to introduce you to the Greening family. I first learned about them through my son Kevin, who is the founder and senior editor of a website devoted to Christian music, CMADDICT.com. Jordan Greening is an aspiring musician and writes a weekly article for the site, called Jordan for Jesus. Her enthusiasm for God and her radiant smile belie the incredible hardships faced by her family in the last ten years. When I learned of all they have endured, I knew I had to share their story with you. This is the first of a three-part series, so be sure to check in the next two weeks for the final installments. You will be inspired and blessed by them, because this family is….Unstoppable.

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You and Matthew have three children. What are their names and ages?

Our oldest daughter is Jordan. She is 22. Our youngest daughter is Hannah and she is 20. We have one son, Samuel, who is 2 years old. We adopted him in 2012, a few months before I was originally diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

 

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How has God gifted each of them? What dreams and goals do Jordan and Hannah have for the future?

Jordan

Jordan

Jordan loves to sing and write music. Not just any music, but music for God. She has loved the Lord and Christian music since she was very young. I remember Jordan singing along with Christian music CDs when she was in kindergarten and even 1st grade. She started singing specials in church when she was around six, and she also loves to sing for YouTube. She loves the Lord very much and I would say her dream would be to work as a Christian music artist professionally. She works day and night on music and taught herself to play guitar and a little on the keyboard.

She hopes to travel one day and share her faith and love for the Lord with others as well as share the music God gives her. She has quite a following on her twitter site where she works to encourage people and share her faith as well. I cannot begin to recall the numbers of people both young and old that have messaged me through the years because they were so encouraged by Jordan and the things she has written to them online. Some were just renewed in their faith, some were encouraged or inspired, some were led to Jesus and some even turned from suicide or self harm after talking with her. She truly desires to please the Lord and hopes that through her faith and walk with Him, she would be able to point people to Jesus Christ.

Jesus is her first and only love.

Jordan is also in college as a part-time student working toward an associate degree. She hopes to transfer to a 4 year college at some point in the future.

Hannah

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Hannah also loves to sing and is a self-taught rapper as well. She writes her own music as well as singing music by other artists. She has sung in churches since she was very little and for YouTube for a number of years. Hannah also loves the Lord and lives her life for Him. She has a strong faith and a very compassionate nature. She has been a supporter of children suffering from cancer for many years. She began making special edited pictures and videos of children who were dealing with cancer while she was in her teens. She was careful to ask permission from the families before doing this.

Through time, people began approaching her for pictures and videos for their children. She has worked doing these things for years online and faithfully prays for the children and their families. She has often sent the families and their children messages and words of encouragement or even gifts through the mail.  I have often seen her in tears when these precious little ones would gain their angel wings and pass to the arms of Jesus in Heaven. Even after their passing, Hannah continues to support their families and the legacy of these precious children through pictures and videos online.

Through this work, she was asked to help with Talia Castellano’s social media sites. Talia was a YouTube sensation and an inspiration to many people throughout the world. Though she was young, Talia touched many hearts and lives with her spunky and cheerful and inspirational nature. Talia also appeared on the Ellen show a number of times. Talia passed away about a year ago at the age of 12.  Hannah has felt honored to be able to work with Talia’s family and friends and help with Talia’s Face Book page, YouTube, and twitter site to keep Talia’s legacy alive and help bring support, funding, and awareness to childhood cancer. Through these things, Hannah decided to work toward a degree in Nursing and desires to work in pediatric oncology. She has completed all of her basics at this point and hopes to apply this spring for the Nursing program in a local community college in our town.

Samuel     

handsome child of all

What a surprise and joy when our youngest, Samuel Isaiah, became a part of our family! He has been a blessing to everyone. He is a smart little fellow who knows his colors and how to count to 16 at two years of age! He loves to sing, color, look at books, and has a huge interest in cars and trucks. He loves to watch mommy and daddy cook and hopes to one day be in the middle of it all! Samuel is such a friendly little fellow and he makes friends wherever he goes. We were overjoyed when he became a part of our family and we know that God planned him just for us. We really didn’t think we would ever have a son, but God had other plans! Samuel has been with us since he was 3 months old and his adoption began suddenly on my husband’s birthday in June of 2012 and ended on my daughter Jordan’s birthday in November of 2012.  We tell Samuel that he was born out of our hearts. Indeed, my cup runneth over!

What is your medical status at the moment? How is Hannah?

At this point, I have relapsed with ovarian cancer stage 3C. I am currently taking chemo once a month for 6 months. If the cancer recedes, and I become once again NED (no evidence of disease), I will then have around 6 maintenance chemo infusions at the end of my treatment. These will also be one each month for 6 months. I have an upcoming CT to let us know how I am doing. We are hopeful that the cancer is diminishing.
Hannah suffers daily from many symptoms including bone pain, joint pain and swelling, swollen lymph nodes, migraines, anemia, chronic fatigue, nausea, blood abnormalities and etc. She has seen many specialists over the years, but none have been able to piece together her symptoms and come up with a diagnosis. We are hoping to soon schedule her with a team of doctors or in a diagnostic clinic where tests can be done in hopes of finding a diagnosis and getting her the help she needs.

Next Thursday: Part 2 – In the Face of Hardship

 

Learn more about the Greening family here:

The Family’s Donation Page:
http://www.gofundme.com/thegreeningfamily

Anita’s Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/AnitaK316

Jordan’s YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Jordan1617

Hannah’s YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/HannahNoelle2158

Jordan on CMADDICT:
http://www.cmaddict.com/article_page.php?article_id=430

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Devotionals

Is THAT the Reason We’re Called “Followers?”

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Today I awakened before dawn. The day’s burdens began to weigh upon me as I lay in bed trying to go back asleep. Finally I got up and slipped quietly downstairs to my computer. I sat down and sighed. My plans and life’s circumstances were not getting along.

To gain a little perspective, I went to my old blog and read this November post from 2009:

Okay, I admit it. I’ve been feeling low and grumbly lately. Sure, I have all the usual stresses in my life that being a full-time caregiver bring. But I can’t blame my mood on that.  Actually, our lives have been fairly stable in recent months. Back in the days that Kevin was most ill or in the hospital for one reason or another, I’d have given my eye teeth for days like these. Those days, it would have been heaven just to spend an afternoon in my own kitchen cooking one of our favorite meals, to sit with the family playing the newest version of Family Feud together, or to sleep in my own bed instead of trying to fold myself up into a hospital chair for the night.

So I really can’t complain. As a matter of fact, I should be rejoicing. God has been very good to us, despite our situation. I should be grateful. 

And I am. Truly, I am.

The source of my bad attitude lately has been disappointment. Recent events in our situation have made it clear that I must go back to school for my nursing license.

That wasn’t in my plans. I didn’t even see it coming. I was sure I knew God’s path for me and was enthusiastically pursuing what I thought was His plan. Then a big STOP sign appeared out of nowhere and loomed ahead in the road.

Oops. What is this ?

At first it shook me to think that I missed God by so much. Then I remembered that I can’t trust my own heart because it has been proven to be a selfish and deceitful creature. God is, ultimately, the only one who really knows what is ahead. He’s the only one who knows how to bring us safely through the minefields of this world. I have to let Him lead the way, even when it means a detour – or a permanent change – from the previous path.

There’s a reason we’re called followers of Jesus.

He’s the leader.

When events change without warning in my life, it’s time to step back, drop my preconceptions, and let Him show me the way. And it wouldn’t hurt me to thank Him for being such a good and faithful Captain.

I know these things, deep within that blood-red altar where my spirit dwells in worship of the King. Even when I am totally befuddled with His ways, I know that He is trustworthy. Even when my mind rears up in self-righteous rebellion to His guidance – by force of the Spirit Who empowers my feeble faith – I will bow my knee to what my soul knows to be the truth:

He is Lord.

He loves us fiercely.

He alone knows the way Home.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Four years later,

I can say “Amen” without hesitation. Although the journey was formidable as I pursued my nursing license, it was indeed the right path for me. I emerged on the other side more convinced than ever of God’s immeasurable wisdom and power. I just needed to be reminded of that this morning.

If you are struggling with that big detour sign blocking off your dreams today, don’t be afraid. When He changes our plans, it’s because His are better. He’s big and strong, and He will safely lead you to the finish line. You only have one thing to do.

Follow.

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Devotionals

To Kill the Longing

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We inched down the winding mountain pass toward the ocean, smothered in a thick fog. After ten hours on the road through a fierce thunderstorm, our nerves were frayed. We rounded a curve and our headlights caught a raccoon in the middle of our lane.

The light dissolved his eyes into a watery green glow. He reared up in hapless defiance and raised his little paws as if to fend us off.

My husband swerved, barely missing.

So far, it was the most positive thing that had happened on the trip.

It was our first real family vacation in sixteen years. A generous cousin offered us the use of their beachfront rental for a week on the Oregon coast. Knowing a trip of that length would test our ability to travel with Kevin’s extensive medical needs, we planned as carefully as we could.

Then the week before the trip, The Resistance began. Aaron’s mother had a medical emergency and was ordered by her doctor to go immediately into an assisted living center. The family was inundated with a myriad details to get her moved within a few days.

The day before we left, we were still taking care of her issues while trying to pack. That night, there was a thunderstorm, taking out the power for two hours. Since Kevin sleeps on a ventilator at night, we had to switch his equipment over to emergency power and watch to make sure he was okay.

We left the next day after a few hours of sleep. Immediately out of the driveway, our nearly new van flashed a warning light. We spent an hour in town getting it checked out.

Back on the road again, we watched an ominous storm gather around us. It descended in earnest over the Columbia Gorge. A gale slammed us sidelong and threatened to blow us off the road. Lightning hit so close we actually had to try to keep from touching anything metal inside the van. Thunder boomed above our heads.

We hit Portland during rush hour. “Margie,” our little GPS guide, taunted us by commanding us to crisscross between lanes of heavy traffic. We turned her off and found our own way.

We finally made it to the coastal highway, only to be hit with a heavy rain. As we inched down the winding mountain pass, we were wrapped in a heavy fog.

We arrived at our lovely beach house shaken but unhurt. Our son and daughter-in-law arrived a few hours later, telling much the same story.

“It felt like something out of ‘This Present Darkness,’ ” my daughter-in-law mentioned.

Bingo.

All the time I thought it was just me. The warfare was so intense, it was insane. It didn’t make sense.

My first thought was, “It’s not like it was a Billy Graham Crusade. Why should the devil care that we’re going on vacation?”

Before the week was over, however, I realized why the battle to get there was so fierce. It was a truly blessed time. We played together and prayed together. God spoke to us in the Christian music, the fellowship, the laughter, and the peace. We stood on the beach and listened to the sea. We watched the sun set the water on fire every evening and gloried in the blaze as it sank into the horizon.

I got to see my beloved extended family again. We swapped family stories and laughed and cried until it hurt so good.

In Brazil they use the phrase “Matar saudades.” It literally means, “to kill the longing.” For sixteen years, we have lived in the valley of the shadow. Life has been hard. Many of the simple joys have gone by the wayside as we struggled to make it through each day. For the most part, we’ve adjusted to our new normal and submitted to the discipline it takes to keep Kevin healthy.

We’ve learned to accept hardship as our path. We didn’t expect to encounter something so extravagant, so rich, so abundant. To be blessed with such generosity. To be alive just for the fun of it. To kick sand in the face of loss.

Now I know why it was such a struggle to get here. This was more than a vacation. We came to kill the longing.

 

Photo courtesy Grace Thorson 

 

Recently I had the honor of being featured in an interview with author Aaron Gansky. Check out the interview at http://aarongansky.com/author-spotlight-pamela-thorson/.

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Devotionals

Sight Unseen

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We walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7

One year our sons received an atomic clock for their office wall. They took it out of the box and showed us how it set itself to exactly the right time for our time zone. As they held the clock up, the hands moved around the face as if by magic, setting themselves to the command of a radio signal sent out from Colorado. 

I was suitably impressed. I didn’t know people could buy clocks that set themselves by radio signal.  

But it shouldn’t have seemed so bizarre. Every day I sit at the computer and take for granted that the images and sounds coming to me have been beamed down from a satellite in space. If I stand outside next to our satellite dish, however, I will see no pictures or sounds moving through the sky. They all exist on a bandwidth my senses can’t pick up until the signals are converted by machines. 

Though I can’t see the signals floating in space, I have no doubt they are there, because I see the images and sounds they produce on my television and computer.We all operate by this same principle daily, accepting what we don’t see, because we see its effects. 

Electricity, for example, can’t be seen by the human eye; yet it is powerful, even deadly. We have learned to respect its power and harness its energy for our use. The wind operates in much the same way -invisible, strong, and real. If I stand outside, I can feel its presence; if the wind blows down a tree, I can see its effects. 

Just try to tell someone electricity and wind don’t exist.

Yet we question the existence of God merely because we have never seen Him. As we accept wind, electricity, and radio waves because we know what they do, we can accept His existence because we can see His power at work all around us. We see His creation, we feel His presence, and we experience the effect He has on our lives as we operate in His Spirit.

We are finite beings, created with limits. There are dimensions we can’t discern with our physical senses because we were not created with that ability. But there is so much more that lies beyond our eyes. It is a world beyond our dreams, revealed through God’s Spirit.

We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen;
for the things which are seen are temporal,
but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18

The world we can see is full of uncertainty. But we can walk through it with courage, knowing this world is not all there is. The Lord Jesus Christ left one dimension to enter ours. He purchased, with great cost, a secure future in a dimension more real than the one we call our home. One day it will be revealed to us in all its glory. 

For now, we accept it – sight unseen.  

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Devotionals

Fear of Flying, Wild Monkeys, and the Call to Courage

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Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears. –Arthur Koestler

Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed,
for the LORD God, my God, is with you.
1 Chronicles 28:20

A cold sweat drenches my palms. Fear courses through me in jagged waves. My stomach lurches wildly as the panic ebbs and flows. I am falling, falling, falling.

Well, not really. It only feels that way as the plane jostles in mild turbulence as it skirts Hurricane Bertha. The year is 1996, and I’m on my first international flight to Brazil with my husband, pastor, and his wife.

Not only did I make it there without incident, we had a wonderful trip and returned safely back to the States two weeks later. Along the way I saw the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, Bryce Canyon, and the night lights of Miami for the first time from the air. We flew above a lightning storm and watched the light show beneath us. Although it was in the dark, we flew over the city of Caracas, Venezuela, the Amazon River, and the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. We landed in Sao Paulo on a sparkling day twenty-eight hours after we flew out from the Spokane airport in Washington.

In Brazil we were introduced to its beautifully exotic land and people. We fed bananas to wild monkeys, swam in the Atlantic Ocean, sang worship songs in Portuguese, and drove over hair-raising roads traversing the country. We visited large cities and slums. We held the babies in an AIDS clinic. We wept and laughed and prayed with the wonderful people we met everywhere.

We returned home more thankful for all we have here.

What an amazing journey I would have missed had I given in to my fear of flying and stayed home!

Our family has been in some fearful places since then. God has always brought us through safely with a new understanding of His glory, richer for the losses we’ve gained.

Lately, doors have been closing and others have been opening. Fear once again sits on the doorstep, baring its ugly teeth and challenging us to pass by. We can stay with what is safe, known, near to the water line of our comfort level.

Or we can take that terrifying step into the skies.

Today the familiar feeling of falling has hit my insides once again. I’m not on a plane right now, but our lives have just entered the boarding gate. God’s revving the engines.

Do you feel God calling you out of the ordinary? Are circumstances driving you to the border of the unknown? How do you handle fear when God calls you out of your comfort zone?

Is faith or fear going to win today?

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Devotionals

Will You Survive the Storm?

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Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
He caused the storm to be still.
Psalm 107-28-29

He is called the “prince of the power of the air.”* He invades world events, rattles our physical world, and causes havoc in the hearts of men. We know him as the devil, or Satan. He always blows in bringing trouble for God’s creation.

++++++++++++++

It had been a particularly busy and productive time of ministry for Jesus, though danger lurked everywhere. Many were healed and heard the Good News. But His cousin had recently been beheaded by the king. It seemed a storm was brewing.

“Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest awhile,” He told His disciples. They took a boat across the Sea of Galilee to find a quiet place.

The crowd followed them, however, and were waiting for Him as their boat reached land. Although Jesus was bone-weary, He was filled with compassion at the sight of the people, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He spoke to them until it was very late, then He filled their empty bellies with a miracle dinner of five loaves of bread and two fish.

If He was tired before, He must have been exhausted by then.

He told the disciples to go on ahead of Him in the boat while He sent the crowd away. Then He went to the mountain to pray for awhile.

As Jesus prayed, a strong wind came up and threatened the boat and His disciples. It was nearly morning. The disciples were caught in the middle of the sea, buffeted by the winds, unable to reach safety.

In the dark, in the middle of a sea, Jesus saw them struggling. He came to them in their crisis; He met them in the storm. He didn’t have to join them. He had just miraculously produced enough food out of thin air to feed a crowd. He could have spoken the word from His mountain and calmed the waves.

Instead, He went to their side, walking on the storm as if were His personal highway. The disciples were terrified. Who was this man? 

He told them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” Only He did not actually say “It is I.” He said, literally, “I AM.”

I AM. The ancient name for the LORD God of Israel. The name given to Moses out of the burning bush. The Eternal God.

Our Creator.

Are you weary of fighting the storm? Are you caught between destruction and the safe shore for which you long? Are you more certain of the strength of the evil one than you are of the Savior?

Take courage.

God sees you. His Son Jesus has conquered the winds and the waves that threaten to sweep you away. Even when His power was restrained by the constraints of a human body, Jesus commanded authority over every challenge raised against those He loved. Now at the right hand of the Father, He has released the awesome power of the Holy Spirit to fight for you.

You’re not alone. You won’t sink. Watch and trust Him to come to you and conquer your storm.

He has promised, “I AM”    …everything you need.

 

*Ephesians 2:2

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Devotionals

The Battle for Renewal

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Then He showed a river of the water of life, clear as crystal,
coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street.
On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kind of fruit, yielding its fruit every month;
and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:1-2

Winter has never won the battle of the seasons, but this year it seemed to have its cold, gnarly fingers firmly clamped around the ground and my heart. The garden lay in dead disarray. My life followed a similar trend. Heartrending situations with my family and friends gripped us in an icy chill of  relentless drama and tragedy.

Faith ran daily to the window to look for signs of life on my horizon. It was usually met with gray skies and new storms. It seriously looked like spring itself had given up and taken off for a long southern vacation.

Then I began to notice that although the storms still buffeted us, spring seemed to have a change of heart and decided to show up, after all. It was still cold, and uninviting outside my window. I was delighted to discover that the daffodils had gotten the memo, though, along with the hyacinths.

Once it decided to commit to a change of seasons, spring braved the weather and cued the greenery. The cold raised a challenge with a blast of hail. Tender life, having gained new courage, marched forward to undaunted.

Every year, the battle for renewal rages in the earth. Each year, death appears to triumph over the promise of resurrection along with our dreams. We know, however, that life always wins.

Today it is gray and cold again here. But I can look out my window and see that spring is going to conquer. In fact, it already has. My garden is blooming.

There are still parts of my life which haven’t felt the sun’s warm rays. I tell my impatient heart that renewal is on its way. God encourages us to look not to the daily storms, but the inevitable thaw what will arrive.

Winter will end. Spring will come.

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