{"id":3468,"date":"2018-02-02T08:55:56","date_gmt":"2018-02-02T14:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?p=3468"},"modified":"2018-02-05T16:04:48","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T22:04:48","slug":"groundhog-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/groundhog-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Groundhog Day — Will it be the Winter of Despair, or the Spring of Hope?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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Saturday it was 60\u00a0degrees. Tomorrow\u2019s snowfall will exceed 6 inches.<\/p>\n

I think of Charles Dickens.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWill it be the winter of despair or the spring of hope?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0asked Charles Dickens.<\/p>\n

In a thousand different ways in a thousand different times I\u2019ve asked that very question in my heart of hearts. I\u2019m not alone. I\u2019ve had jobs that seemed to be without any hope. I lived through relationships that looked sunk into winter. I\u2019ve listened to the tape in my own mind, reminding me of my shortcomings.<\/p>\n

The question is answered in playful traditions, like\u00a0Punxsutawney Phil<\/a>,\u00a0the erstwhile groundhog in Punxsatawney, PA, who saw his shadow this morning.<\/p>\n

For years, I lived in a Wyoming climate that guaranteed five months of snow on the ground. \u00a0There was nothing like the day when the sun broke through, mud was everywhere, and although the temperature was no more than 40 degrees, college kids were in the parks throwing Frisbees with their shirts off.<\/p>\n

The best of times, the worst of times<\/em><\/p>\n

These days we stand on the precipice of seasonal change. For some, winter was harsh with its cold and snow, wet and wind. It seems like it never ends. For others, everything is coming up bright.<\/p>\n

Dickens continued to write of in\u00a0a Tale of Two Cities<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It was the best of times, the worst of times.
\nIt was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of light<\/em><\/p>\n

It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We all live in that contrast. If not personally, we certainly experience it inter-relationally.<\/p>\n

When things are going well for me, I\u2019m often cautious about expressing my joy. Someone may be in the throes of despair and I don\u2019t want to be only one living a party.\u00a0Conversely, when darkness descends on me, I\u2019m reticent to talk about for fear I\u2019ll extinguish their hope.<\/p>\n

Most of the time,\u00a0I can endure my own despair, but I can\u2019t really handle someone else\u2019s hope<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We walk in a world of contrast, light and dark, good and bad, beautiful and ugly. The great philosopher\u00a0Arlo Guthrie<\/a>\u00a0once said,\u00a0\u201cIf you don\u2019t ever know the darkness, man, you\u2019ll never really appreciate the light.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the first bulbs of spring give such delight. We have seen the short, cold days of a long winter and\u00a0we just don\u2019t like it.\u00a0<\/em>The buds of promise push through to our hearts and warm us up to tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Come Spring<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/people\/nelgdev\/\"<\/a>
Photo by Nelgdev via Flickr CCLI.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We walk in a world of contrast, light and dark, good and bad, beautiful and ugly. The great philosopher\u00a0Arlo Guthrie\u00a0once said,\u00a0\u201cIf you don\u2019t ever know the darkness, man, you\u2019ll never really appreciate the light.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":3471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1475,1744,1146,1602],"class_list":["post-3468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-charles-dickens","tag-despair","tag-groundhog-day-2","tag-hope"],"yoast_head":"\nGroundhog Day -- Will it be the Winter of Despair, or the Spring of Hope?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a0I can endure my own despair, but I can\u2019t really handle someone else\u2019s hope. 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