Hope Comes in the Midst of Cherry Blossom Blooms
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
Spring has sprung, and with it have come thick blankets of pollen, the annual nesting of our favorite thrasher family under the eaves of our back deck, and copious amounts of cherry blossoms – that ephemeral bloom that has inspired ceremonies and celebrations around the world for millennia.
In Japan, where they are recognized as a national flower, cherry blossoms are (according to Wikipedia) seen as “an enduring metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life,” and their “exquisite beauty and volatility” make them apt for artistic allusions to mortality.
I get it – probably more than any Wikipedia editor realizes. The blooming of our two cherry blossom trees is one of my favorite things about spring. At their peak, they look like clouds come down to earth, snowflakes dancing in the slightest of breezes. But that beauty lasts only for a few weeks and then comes the volatility. What was once beautiful becomes a constant irritant. Their petals get tracked into the house, necessitating more sweeping than I’d care to do. Their blooms congregate in our pool, creating an amoeba-like mass that must be scooped out constantly. (First-world problems, I know.)
These cherry blossoms create a kind of tension within me that I think we’re all dealing with right now in this time of virus, sheltering-at-home, social distancing, quarantines, and overall isolation. There’s beauty and gratitude in living the lives God has granted us, but there’s also a sense of frustration as we wait for the plague to pass.
To me, it’s akin to the tension that we as Christians hear about nearly every Sunday. We are called to live in the world, but to be not of it; to be the salt and the light when society seems to thrive on doom and gloom; to realize that a Biblical worldview is vital to enduring a global pandemic, despite what the media or government officials tell us. We know that we live in a fallen world, and yet we can have hope no matter what public health crises come our way (or to trivialize it somewhat, no matter how much cherry blossom petals drive us to distraction).
As Jesus says in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
And as Jeremiah writes to the Babylonian captives in 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
We are called as believers to abide in the peace Christ has given us, even in times of suffering and uncertainty, because we know that He is in control and that we can find our hope in Him. Perhaps, like me, you’ve found yourself thinking that’s easier said than done. Perhaps, like me, you’ve let doubt, fear, and anxiety overcome the hopeful certainty you’ve always relied on as a Christian.
Like me, I hope you’ll take this unexpected downtime to pray for stronger faith; and to prayerfully dig into your Bible, as Pastor Matt mentioned recently, ready to act on the wisdom God reveals to you. He is ready and waiting to encourage you and to remind you that He has already overcome the virus – and the world.
Jenn Dennard
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