A Certain Hope

I am so looking forward to warmer weather. We have had, apparently, the second warmest winter ever (by only one degree). As I heard someone else respond to this - "I would like to know where they were having it, it wasn't where I live!!"
As the cold wet days drag on, they dampen the soul, and weary the spirit. So many of our local retirees head North for a period of time each winter, and since moving here almost two years ago I am beginning to think it might be essential for good mental health!
Warrnambool IS North for the whales, and they have been showing up a lot lately, curiously checking out the surfers or putting on a nice display for avid watchers. I couldn't be a whale and have to head further south (brrr!) even with a flattering layer of blubber!! Am seriously considering a winter holiday savings fund so we can fly North each winter. Even one week of warmth would be helpful to break the monotony.
Greg's Dad had an oft used exclamation "Hate the winter!" that has been reiterated fairly often of late in this household.
Perhaps the cold, wet conditions exacerbate the monotony of the weeks. We are finding that one week relentlessly rolls into the next with little change, little to look forward to. Mercifully, God has ordained the change of seasons to give us something to look forward to, and even when they seem a long time in coming, our nectarine tree will suddenly burst into bloom and various shrubs will spout new growth, reminding us that it is not long now...
To many of us, change often comes as uncomfortable or unsettling, but this long winter (with apologies to those who live closer to either Pole) reminds me that without some change, we will wither mentally and emotionally - or go completely nuts!
Change usually introduces an unknown quantity, so while it can be daunting and uncertain, it brings with it the possibility that things will improve. We jump in, trusting, hoping that the other side will be "greener" so to speak.
What are the sayings? "A change is as good as a holiday..." being stuck inside gives you "cabin fever" a term which (I am guessing) originated on long voyages enduring monotonous conditions - ripe for mutiny.
Change can bring hope: life without hope is arguably not life. It is said that humans can endure great suffering when they know that it is for a limited time. Perhaps we cannot endure very much at all if we believe it will go on indefinitely.
HOPE - something to look forward to, keeps us moving forward, enables us to remain positive in the difficulties of the present, makes it easy to encourage others to do the same. In the Bible, it says "Hope deferred makes the heart sick".
I am glad to believe in Someone greater than me; a God who loves me. When life is difficult or monotonous, and change for the better seems less than possible, that belief holds me like an anchor. I can believe, often with current evidence to the contrary, that things will get better. So I can keep moving forward, pressing on, enduring... and inevitably, the cloud eventually passes, and spring turns into summer.