That seems to be the word of the day. Unrelenting is the new word to describe winter in our part of the world. We are used to occasional snow showers. Sub-zero temps are not unheard of in this part of the world. School cancellations, and icy roads happen this time of the year. For the past six weeks we have had snowstorm after snowstorm. The thermometer has dipped below zero on numerous days. We have been bombarded with wind-chills that feel like -40. Today is another day where we are under a winter-storm warning. The children have missed so much school, that they may be celebrating the 4th of July at school. We look for any sign that it may be coming to an end. We even follow on the news the exploits of one groundhog in Pennsylvania. Hoping he might bring some relief.
You know, when you are counting on a groundhog, you are fairly desperate. The winter has been brutal. And, yes it has been unrelenting. We seem to be able to hold up to a difficult day now and again, but when the days pile up into weeks and months, we become most weary.
Long ago I came to the realization that winter is followed by spring. No matter how cold and snowy, before you know it days become longer, flowers will bud, and grass will grow again. In four or five months we will begin to clamor on about the unrelenting heat. Is there no relief from this oppressive heat? Only when in the middle of a season does it seem to last forever. Sitting at my desk this early and cold February morning, I can barely remember last Augusts heat. All I can think about is the cold.
Life is not so unrelenting as it is daily. Each day comes and then shortly fades into another. Bad news comes and then more seems to come and we see a pattern develop. Will there only be bad news the rest of my life? My notion is that we never develop this perspective on good days. When was the last time you said, ‘if I have one more good day, I believe I am going to be pushed over the edge?’ Good things and grace to us seem to be our right, and bad days are an aberration. Hey, I like good days a lot. In all honesty I prefer them. Yet, God is Lord of all my days. Daily worship is the ballast that holds us steady. In the good and remarkable we give God the praise. In the tough times we hold on to the ‘unseen Hand’. Today, I have been reminded that in the darkest days of winter God is still in control. When things seem unrelenting, His grace is more unrelenting. His grace says, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’
Unrelenting love and grace are available to the follower of Christ. I observed a news story that disturbed me greatly yesterday. I turn my questions and my concerns over the God of unrelenting grace. I, and my world need major doses of grace today.
