February

It is February again, dark and cold.  Some forty Catholic schools will be shutting their doors in Philadelphia. Local public schools will be closing their buildings nights and weekends, in an effort to save on costs. As ever, there is waste and scandal in Washington. As ever, there is unrest in the Middle East.

Again, we protest, we plead, we pray. But there are times we grow discouraged, times our efforts seem to make no difference at all.

In February, when hope eludes us and summer feels as distant as the stars, we can have faith that God made even the darkness and the cold, but is not defined by them. We can have faith that summer will return, and the Light of the World endures.

“You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter” (Ps. 74: 17).

Lord God, You appointed the seasons, adorned summer with lush meadows and winter with glistening snow. When all seems dark and cold around us; when the seed lies buried deep in the ground, and spring is a continent away; when we can find no inspiration and no audience, remind us that You are there and in control.

Remind us that You made the seasons, but do not change with them; that the earth and its cares which at times overwhelm us are held securely in the palm of Your hand.

Let the storms rage, and the sun go out. Let the seas roar. We are safe in the arms of our God, safe in the arms of Him who set the borders of all the earth.

Amen

READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse  http://www.avoicereclaimed.com