Signs of Hope

 On Saturday our area was hit with what the weather forecasters were calling a 'bombcyclone." The snow came down so heavily at times that I couldn't see out of the window, and the winds were whipping so badly that I was sure a tree was coming down any minute. It was a tense 24 hours for sure. While we didn't get the foot or more of snow they were calling for, 9.5 inches isn't anything to sneeze at, either. So besides prayer and a good supply of candles and batteries (just in case), what got me through the "dark and stormy night?" This:

No , not the cat thermometer. The geranium bloom. I woke up to a blizzard roaring outside, and a sign of spring to come on the inside. I have never had a geranium bloom in March, even though it is growing indoors. It was as if the geranium knew I needed a sign of hope, hope that spring would get here soon, and the promise that it would arrive eventually when the time was right. It reminded me of the old Native American saying: 

"Even in Nature, no storm can last forever."

Sometimes we need to look for signs of hope and promise when all seems dark and hopeless. The fact that I woke up today is a sign of hope and promise. The fact that the sun finally returned today , and in full strength, I might add, is a sign of hope and promise. The fact that I finally saw tiny paw prints in the snow on the roof outside my window, a sign that my little squirrel neighbors, whom I have not seen since the storm hit, were okay, is a sign as well. The fact that, after 30 years living in upstate New York, I should have faith by now that regardless of what is going on outside my window, spring is only a few more weeks away. All I needed was a sign of hope and promise, and Mother Nature came through for me once again. She always does.

And so it is.