Recently, we all have lost a lot of things. This virus has taken over our schedules, normalcy, freedom, personal space and the ability to feel safe. Some people have lost jobs and the ability to provide for their families. Others have lost the chance to be embraced — whether they are on the front line with fear of passing anything on to loved ones or simply stuck at home with no one there to hold and hug them.
And since we cannot yet see the light at the end of the tunnel — we are still not sure when all of this will end and we can resume normal lives — I think it is safe to say that we have all lost a little bit of hope.
Just the other evening, my neighbor and I were talking — more than six feet apart of course. She mentioned that spring has always meant hope for her. Then, we talked about the line of trees behind our house and how quickly the brown limbs of gloom that we can currently see through turn into thick leaves of green prohibiting sight beyond them. “It happens so fast,” she said as all the trees were still bare. At that time, I couldn’t help but agree.
But, looking out at those lifeless trees every single day for the past couple of weeks now, it does not seem like anything is happening fast. I have yet to see any green, and there is still a clear line of sight into the distance. Yet, I know that within a few weeks, we will be enveloped by beautiful green branches surrounding the back of our houses.
Interestingly enough, even though I cannot see the green now, I don’t just hope that our backyards will again be vibrant with life and beauty, I know that they will. And as I started thinking about it, I realized that spring is not just hope, in fact, maybe even more, it’s faith. But, that makes sense because “faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is unseen.” Hebrews 11:1
You see, we cannot have faith without hope. We need to have something that we long for — that even in the middle of this darkness is still holding out its hand. Which is precisely why I am certain that Easter creeping up on us in the middle of all of this chaos was more than just a coincidence.
And when I say Easter crept in, I mean it actually tiptoed quietly upon me and was here before I even knew it. I felt like I hadn’t prepared myself or my family for the season at all. Look, for four weeks we have been grasping at anything to just get us through each day — work, school, meals, exercise, chores, baths, bed. Typically, we discuss the importance of Easter for weeks! And, ashamedly, it had barely crossed my mind.
But something about this week brought me back. I don’t know, maybe it was the numbers of the virus coming in well under what was initially thought (don’t fact check me — it’s just what I am hearing). Or maybe it was the beautiful weather that we received the first couple of days in the week, seeing all our neighbors outside (from a distance) and settling into the fact that this may not be too bad.
But what I really think it was about this week is that I talked to my girls a lot about Jesus — His death, how He died for us and our sins — and the glorious day that He rose from the grave. We thanked Him and praised Him and the girls even questioned why He would do that for us. Confidently, I assured them that that is how much He loves us.
Furthermore, I don’t just hope that He loves us, I know He does. He died for us so we may not only have hope, but the faith in what we cannot always see, and yet, we trust is there or is coming.
And that’s so important right now in a world of the unknown where we have lost so much recently — including (and especially) hope. But it is there. We may just have to look a little harder for it. We have to have the faith of knowing that the next season is coming.
And as certain as I am the next green leaf will unfold on our line of trees out back, I know that Jesus will get us through all of this. After all, He rose from the dead, so I assure you He can do anything. We simply have to hold onto our hope and feed our faith.
He is risen. He is risen indeed!
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