It’s April 15th and there are 12 inches of snow on the ground with more falling steadily as I write, and I am weary.

I’ve decided what has made this particular winter so much more difficult for us Minnesotans to handle is the fact that we’ve had many glimpses of the hope of Spring, only to have them dashed by yet another dreadfully hefty snow storm.

We capture the warmer days with gusto, dusting off our lighter jackets, spring clothes, and even our sandals (okay maybe that last one was just me). We bask in the glory of the sunshine certain that this is our time! We’ve paid our winter dues and are ready to welcome the newness of Springtime and all of the fragrant relief it brings.

When we first hear the weather report predicting snow, we are incredulously pessimistic about its truth. “Spring is here!”, we shout, forgetting years past when Winter has been equally unkind to us.

Then the snow comes, and we are astonished and unprepared, refusing to succumb to the control it inevitably has on our ability to live our lives normally. Some of us hunker down for the duration, finding activities to keep us busy until Spring makes a final and lasting appearance. Others venture out wisely or not, to break free from the seemingly never-ending oppression of Winter.

My weariness of Winter is a noteworthy reflection of my weariness of life.

Life ebbs and flows, tosses and turns, and is full of peaks and valleys. We know this to be true, we have experienced it thus far. Yet, just like we are surprised when Winter will not relent, we are struck when another disappointment comes along during our climb to the peak we are certain we will reach.

Jesus did not promise that our earthly lives would be uncomplicated. In fact, he assured us just the opposite.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  — John 16:33

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” — Matthew 24:6-13

There it is friends. A promise of turmoil and hardship from our Savior himself. Even after assuring us that this life won’t be easy, Jesus ends each of these with ineffable hope – He has overcome the world, and if we stand firm in Him, we will be saved.

So, in your weariness, remember that Spring is coming, as surely as it has the countless years before, it will again. Even more certain than the coming of Spring is the coming of our Jesus to bring us into the warmth and light of His eternal Spring. We need only endure the Winter for this brief moment in eternity.