By Joseph J. Mazzella
In the middle of winter when a thick layer of snow covers the ground and the bitter, north wind is banging against my frosted windows, I sometimes close my eyes and daydream of spring. I imagine that snow melting into the ground and nourishing the tiny seeds beneath the soil. I think of those springing to life and turning into thousands of red, yellow, pink, and purple flowers. I imagine the dry, brown grass turning green and growing lush and thick. I think of the bare trees budding with flowers and new leaves. I see the birds building nests and the Robins singing in their branches. I imagine the air turning warm once again and the sun nourishing the world with its golden light.
Then I allow my mind to take me even further in time to balmy summer nights. I hear the crickets making their music by the local lake. I see the fireflies flashing their love lights on and off. I see myself looking up at the thousands of stars in the night sky and wondering if some of them turn planets like ours so full of life. I imagine all the countless galaxies in this universe with their own stars and planets and wonder if on some of them there are people like me. I see all of this glorious complexity of creation and know it couldn’t have just happened. It had to be crated by a Divine Mind and a Loving Hand.
It is that same Loving Hand that made each of us. It is that same Loving Hand that lives in our hearts, strengthens our souls, and guides our lives. It is that same Loving Hand that connects us all. Our Heavenly Father loves us all so much and His hand is always open for us.
Place your hand in His then. Allow His love into your soul. Let Him guide you through the winter days of this life and into the eternal spring of the next. Take your place in His Glorious Creation and spend the rest of your life adding your own love to it.