Notes from a Sojourn
April 1, 2020
Hope and Faith
Living in Texas much of my early adulthood, I always looked forward to Springtime when the Bluebonnets would bloom. They are really nothing more than a weed and spread everywhere uncontrollably, but they are so beautiful when they bloom that the highways and Hill Country of central Texas are transformed into a visual heaven of God’s design. Each Spring, we would take the children out for pictures in the Bluebonnets and bask in the glory of God’s creation. It was peaceful and tranquil and glorious. And after a month or so, they would be gone, they don’t last forever, and they have to die to ensure they bring new life again the following year. The memories that had already been created would have to last another year and my hope and faith would have to carry me until their return.
Today is April Fool’s day and many in the world probably look at Christians as fool’s for having hope and faith, but this is what buoys us, steadies us, comforts us and sustains us in difficult times, trying times, extraordinary times. It is our trust in God and his Son Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit that we can endure all situations looking forward with hope and faith in anticipation for a newer, brighter and better day. It allows us to see and know that the extraordinary circumstances that we are living right now will not last and we can and will endure this temporary inconvenience. God will see us through this as he sees us through all things, provided we continue to trust in him and his wisdom…..fools or not!
My prayer for you today is that your hope and faith will continue to grow in God’s love and that you will look forward, with the beautiful memories of the past, to the future, where greater and more beautiful memories will be made….just like my Bluebonnets!
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. (Psalm 33:22)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
Mark Lewis*
*Mark is a seminarian of Saint Paul University completing a pastoral placement with St. Lawrence Parish.
