Hope in the midst of doldrums

"We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love."
From Eugene H. Peterson's The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13.

Daisies are happy flowers

I guess I've become a true Minnesotan because I'm going to use this posting to talk about the weather. Well, it's been positively glacial here lately. Luckily, we still see the sun. When it does pop out of the clouds, though, that means it's going to be a colder day. It took me awhile to get used to that fact because on the west coast, the appearance of sun usually signifies warmth. But, wintertime in Minnesota is definitely an exception to that theory.
It's just been so cold lately (usually close to or below zero) that I've become rather melancholy. But, I see the sun now, and I'm starting to thaw. Once you have experienced temperatures that cold, suddenly you're happy just to alive. And, things like daises give you a spring in your step.