The Color Of Hope ...

   “We have this hope

         as an anchor for the soul …”

               ~ Hebrews 6:19

                 ~ The Holy Bible

Hope is colored in pink on this painted rock I spotted during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in early October at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

This painted rock is likely part of the The Kindness Rocks Project, which was founded by Megan Murphy of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, who wanted to spread encouraging messages to strangers by writing them on rocks she found on the beach. The practice spread and launched similar projects across the United States.

The grassroots project encourages people to leave rocks painted with inspiring messages along the path of life. People are encouraged to take one, share one or add to the pile. You can see just how much impact she’s made when looking up #TheKindnessRocksProject. Learn more about how to join the movement at http://thekindnessrocksproject.com.

 

Safe Passage ...

“My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”

   ~ Billy Graham

   ~ 1918-2018

 ~ American evangelist, prominent evangelical Christian figure, and ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well-known internationally in the late 1940s. One of his biographers has placed him “among the most influential Christian leaders” of the 20^th century.

I spotted this “Jesus 2024” sign in front of Friedens United Church of Christ, Slatington, Pennsylvania and had to stop to photograph this uplifting sight as a car sped by on Route 873 on a late May evening in this election year.

In these tumultuous times especially, it is a reminder that when all else is failing, Jesus is still there for us, and a powerful reminder of the hope that Jesus brings as we travel through this world.

 

One Little Snowdrop ...

“Snowdrops: Theirs is a fragile but hearty celebration … in the very teeth of winter.”

              ~ Louise Beebe Wilder

    ~American gardening writer & designer

      whose books are now considered classics 

                     of  their era

                  ~ 1878 ~ 1938

  

One little snowdrop sheens its hopeful beauty in the winter sunshine in this shot I captured February 18, 2023 at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

 

In a winter shorn of snow to this point, this snowdrop still heralds the hope of the coming spring.

 

Snowdrops are hardy perennial, winter-flowering plants that are often heralded as the first sign of spring. They bloom as early as January or February whatever the weather ~ they will even push through frozen, snow-covered ground.

 

Snowdrops are also known as Candlemas Bells, as they were gathered at Candlemas February 2 to decorate churches before the Reformation. They were symbols of purity, which was connected to the rite of purification that Mary observed by going to the temple forty days after Christmas. The festival was formerly known in the Roman Catholic Church as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is now known as the Presentation of the Lord. In the Anglican Church it is called the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. During Candlemas, all of the candles to be used in the church for the coming year are blessed, and the faithful are invited to bring their own candles so that they can be blessed and used in the home for prayer throughout the year.

 

Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, named the snowdrop the Galanthus nivalis, “milk flower of the snow,” in 1753.