It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness … it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope.
Charles Dickens
Every spring, my sense of hope is renewed as I marvel at new life and God’s special green of springtime. I’ve written about this before, but I don’t care. I write about what is currently stirring my soul.
One of my favorite poetic visions is Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” I discovered this poem in S.E. Hinton’s coming-of-age book, “The Outsiders.” The protagonist is told to “Stay green, Ponyboy.” In other words, stay innocent instead of being corrupted by the evils of the world.
Robert Frost’s poem alludes to youthful innocence and reveals God’s handiwork:
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
As I watch my grandchildren grow, I hope I can shelter them from some of the lessons maturity brings. But like the chartreuse of young leaves which lose their golden hue, our children must be allowed to grow up and deal with the complexities of good and bad in life.
Jesus said that in this world we would always have trouble (John 16:33). He continues to be prophetic. Mankind’s history is one of ups and downs, where some are seemingly blessed and others are not. I admit that I don’t understand this.
For centuries, scholars have debated what is called the theodicy question: if God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, why do bad things happen? The classical explanations are 1) There is no God to affect reality (naturalism); 2) We are all sinners (separated from God) and get what we deserve; 3) Tragedy makes us stronger (Romans 5:3-5). 4) We will ultimately receive justice in the next life. Admittedly, none of these explanations is very satisfying for me, even the non-classical notion of karma.
In this world of human failures, frailty, war, politics and privation, it’s often hard to see the “best of times” or perceive God’s mysterious plan (Isaiah 55:8). It is human nature to assume our bodies or things work. And understandably, we are disappointed by aches and pains or when our expectations are not realized. Furthermore, a steady stream of negativity from the media doesn’t help and often discolors the joy of another day of life, which is what we should be celebrating.
For reasons I can’t explain, I have been blessed with a relatively long and prosperous life. I’ve gone further than I ever imagined. The Psalmist sang, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures” (Psalm 90:10). Even though my aging body is getting stiffer, my strength is holding up well enough (even after serious health challenges) that it looks like I’ll make it to my seventy-fifth birthday in May. So, I have trained myself to awaken every morning and thank the Lord for another day of life.
The famous opening lines of Charles Dickens’s 1859 novel “A Tale of Two Cities” revealed tough times and “the best of times.” I believe we experience the same today. We have the Iran war, our government’s ruinous spending, TDS crazies and I could go on, but I won’t because there is no shortage of gloom and doom.
I am blessed by so much, including enough resources and to live in a safe and sensible state. I have the “big three:” life, the love of a wonderful wife and salvation of my Lord, Jesus Christ. I have purpose, family, friends and I could go on; and so could you.
Some years ago, I numbered my blessings and compared them to the challenges in my life. I repeated the survey last year and again found I could list twice as many blessings as negatives. I challenge you to try the exercise.
Our country is going through a rough patch lately, but nothing by comparison to the Civil War, the Great Depression or WWII. Remember when everyone groused about the price of eggs? Well, that was resolved when the chickens destroyed for a bird flu scare were replaced. Remember when gas prices peaked at $5 a gallon in Biden’s presidency? Well, they’re now $4 a gallon and falling. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted gas will be down to $3 a gallon by mid-September. In my opinion, temporary higher prices are worth ridding the world of the terrorist Iranian regime and preventing those fanatics from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
I have recently added to my blessings list a genre of music which I was introduced to at Sevier Heights Church. Being old school Methodist, I loved the old hymns, especially those of Fanny Crosby. Admittedly, I did not like the so-called praise band music I had experienced. But exposure to really good contemporary Christian music has opened my eyes and heart. I recommend you sample the following songs on YouTube as prime examples of quality contemporary Christian music with hopeful and impactful theology: “Goodness of God” by Jenn Johnson and Bethel Music, and “I Speak Jesus” by Charity Gayle.
Since this week’s essay is focused on hope, blessings and beauty, I’ll close with a few thoughts from my favorite poet, Emily Dickinson. She lived her whole life in Amherst, Massachusetts, never traveled or married. And unlike Robert Frost, Dickinson was largely unknown and unpublished in her lifetime. Yet her typically short poetic visions are now recognized as profound. She once said of poetry that, “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm it, I know that it is poetry.” I know what she means. I still get the shivers every time I hear the adagio movement of Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto De Aranjuez.”
I have hope for our country and my grandkids. I have hope that Iranians will come to their senses and renounce nuclear weaponry. The author of Hebrews wrote, “Faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). And as Emily Dickinson says, “Hope is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul.”
