Word of the Week: Ice

I guess I spoke too soon on Sunday. Just when I thought Spring was upon us and the high 60’s would start to be the norm, I opened my front door. I looked out at my car and the first thing I saw was a windshield coated in ice. How about yours?

As I sat there and waited for the defroster to melt the ice so I could safely see and head out for the day, I thought about grief. Like ice on the windshield, our immediate sufferings have a way of blocking our vision of anything out on the horizon. Grief has a way of blocking our view of hope. What are some of the things blocking your vision this week? Have you thought about sharing the load with someone else?

Sometimes it’s too hard or uncomfortable to bring it up yourself. It’s easier when someone asks. Have you seen someone suffering? Maybe they’ve been less talkative than usual. As Paul closes his letter to the Galatians, he writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 5:2). Just as Jesus bears our burdens, even the burdens of sin and death, so those who are in Christ bear the burdens of others. So why not ask? Something as simple as, “It looks like you’re having a tough week. How are you doing?” can open the way to so much more.

Christ is risen and that means our hope is real. How can we help each other hold on to it this week?