Sunshine, faith and hope

Friday the weather delivered a major wallop to already hurting Oklahoma. It seemed unreal that yet another deadly twister bore down on the Sooner State;  but  that is what happened. Not just one funnel, but many dropped from those angry clouds. Once again,  tornadoes dealt death and destruction to the people of my home state. And I wondered just how much the human spirit can withstand.

I believe that when major trouble comes upon us, we would crumble except for two things: faith and hope. Scripture tells me “Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). My parents are, to me, shining examples of faith and hope.  I never heard either of them complain about their lot in life although they went through some terribly hard times; experiences that would have caused me to wilt and shrivel up but they clung to hope and faith and kept going. They were the most positive, upbeat people I ever knew.

Yesterday here in NW Arkansas, the weather could not make up its mind. Would the day be cloudy and misty? Would the sun shine? Finally, it opted for sunshine and I decided it was time to plant flowers under my oak tree in the front yard. I dug in the dirt, put in impatiens and marigolds and a begonia or two and when I was finished, the area that had looked neglected and weedy now looked hopeful. I was hot, dirty and tired and when my friend and neighbor Peg came over with an iced coffee, I was glad to sit on the porch with her for a while and soak up the beauty of the container garden.

Now this morning, sunlight warms the trees and bricks of my neighbor’s house across the street and the day promises to be beautiful. The yellow and white cat went home rather abruptly a few minutes ago, spurred on by the righteous indignation of a bird which kept swooping down toward his posterior. This day dawns with serenity and the two essentials that my spirit must have: one is called faith, the other, hope.