I’m not much of a gardener but at this time of year I always look forward to seeing the daffodil bulbs planted in the autumn push their way through the hard ground. Well, here we are at the beginning of February and they’re doing just that! It’s a good sign that spring is not that far away as we look forward to some better weather following the cold and wintry weather with that flurry of snow which brought last week to its end. Then the Welsh team’s six nations opener against France on Friday night was another boost to the winter blues. It might have all happened in the second half but in the end, it was a win and hopefully there’s much more of the same to come. Before we know it, those daffodils will have come to full bloom and winter will give way to spring, and that’s something we call all look forward to!
It may well feel like winter in our own lives and the circumstances in which we find ourselves may be getting us down. There’s an old saying that it’s always darkest before the dawn. The psalmist found that when he lifted his eyes up to the hills, he knew that his help and strength were renewed and that God, who did not slumber or sleep was continually at his side. The best way through our problems and anxieties is not to allow them to dictate to us but to overcome them with renewed hope for a better future. How do we do that? – Well by never losing faith, and to be sure that in helping and supporting those who less fortunate than we are we may find that our spirits are lifted and renewed.
Lord Jonathan Sachs, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations in his New Year’s message said that our future is often unpredictable and that in times of self-doubt and uncertainty we can find a way through. ‘So, I urge you’ he said ‘is to do one totally unpredictable act of kindness in the next twenty-four hours and show someone that the world is a little better than they thought it was going to be.’ In the words of a well-loved song. In doing so we may well bring spring into the winter of someone else’s life and that will blow all our blues away!
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