After getting back in the car from picking Lincoln up at daycare, Jordyn insisted that I watch the video she recorded on her iPad while she was waiting for us. I assumed it would be of a song she was singing or a story she made up, but it wasn’t. Instead, it was of a beautiful gift that nature gives. This gift seems to show up particularly when people are grieving and need to be reminded of their loved ones. She filmed a red cardinal. The vibrant, jewel-toned, ruby red feathers were a stark contrast to the light brown bareness of the branches with no leaves or buds to call their own. In the bleakness of the cold, harsh reality of the impending death of the tree, life graced its limbs. This picture is one that people who find themselves in their own sorrow, needing a message of hope, often paint. I have heard story after story of those who have recently experienced hard loss receive a visit from a red cardinal. It wasn’t as if they just saw this beautiful bird flying around, but the stories usually involved how the bird seemed very intentional about its visit to that person. According to many different sources you will find, it is thought that a red cardinal is a spiritual sign and
reminder that even after someone you love has passed, they still live on. Therefore, the cardinal has become a sign and reminder of life in the midst of death, of hope in the midst of sorrow.

As we will soon face the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and then the brutal hanging of our Lord on a cross, we will be led through our own celebrations and tears. We will be reminded that some joys have timelines shorter than we would like, and some hurts seem to go on forever. This journey, however, does not stop at Jesus’ death on the cross; it does not stop at the silence of the days to follow; it does not stop at the empty tomb; it does not stop at the resurrection; it does not stop at the ascension; it does not stop at the gift of the Holy Spirit; it does not stop at the building of the church; it does not stop at the falling of the church as we know it; it does not stop with our last breath; it does not stop. The journey we are on, walking with Jesus, goes on for all eternity. What we face here and now is temporary, like a tree that once was but is no more. What we will face, then, is yet to be known, but, like the red Cardinal that is a sign and reminder of life in the midst of death and of hope in the midst of sorrow, we know that because our Savior lives, we can face tomorrow.

Take a look all around you. Appreciate the signs of life that humble your Spirit and set a heart of worship within you. Then don’t hold back or be afraid to shine. People need your bright colors to show through the harsh realities all around us. Better days are yet to come, but the ones we are in can be good too. Amen!

From one light to another,
Pastor Hannah Loughman

Photo by kansasphoto