by Graham Mol
This afternoon I took the kids to go get some ice cream after school. We’re definitely heading into spring now and according to the weather report it was getting as warm as 30 degrees today! For me getting an ice cream – especially the soft-serve version in a cone – is something I associate with happiness. It probably has to do with the fact that I have so many contented and happy memories associated with having an ice cream. It reminds me of summer days at the beach, at Gold Reef City, or when I was a child and my mom would get us delicious caramel dipped ice creams from the Steers next to the school clothing store after we had endured getting new uniforms for the upcoming term (some things just seem to stick in my memory!)
I must admit, while I reflected on happy ice creams and the fact that we are moving into Spring and Summer I was feeling hopeful. The number of positive Covid-19 cases is coming down daily, and the recoveries are going up. The lockdown is loosening up and although things won’t ever quite be the same again, a great deal of things are returning to normal.
The proverbial phrase, “Hope springs eternal” comes to mind. In looking up the origin of the phrase I found out that it was penned by the great English poet, Alexander Pope in his An Essay on Man.
Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always to be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.
Pope observes that us humans have a tendency to be optimistic about the future. Even when we’ve gone through tough and difficult times, we tend to believe that things will get better. Sometimes this optimism is misplaced or naïve. However, we as Christians always have reason to hope. For us, not only does hope spring eternal but our hope is founded in the eternal. The Apostle Peter expresses this truth as he encourages the believers who have gone through times of suffering:
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:10-11)
Amen indeed!
God Bless
Graham
Lovely idea and wonderful writing. Thank you Graham.
That’s so true and encouraging Graham. As we get older it’s so easy to get pessimistic, anxious, sceptical and critical. We only need to look at a children to remember what joy and hope is locked up in their very souls and why Jesus took a child and said that that was what the kingdom of heaven is like.