BROADCASTS.com

For many places in this world, winter means snow. The ground freezes and cold, white snow piles high. It crunches underfoot, and you learn quickly when the snow is wet enough to make the best snowballs. Where I live in Portland, Oregon, winter means rain, and lots of it. We might have one or five days of snow each winter, and the entire city shuts down. We are never prepared, but the children love to play outside in the snow. It’s an exciting adventure that is gone after a day or two. Then it’s back to our normal mild, damp conditions. Regardless of your climate, the winter months can be long. Winter can seem like it is forever — gloomy and cold. But spring comes, and with spring comes hope. Flowers bloom, and temperatures warm up. The ground thaws, and planting can begin. New life grows. Sometimes the winter of our lives seems to last forever. We can feel stuck and hidden, as if we cannot change our bad habits or our decisions. But spring is dawning. As it says in 2 Corinthians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The old life is melting away, and new life is possible with Christ and His love and mercy dwelling in us. This is hope that must be shared with your world.          This is Luis Palau.