I enjoy winter. To me, cold weather means a fire in the fireplace, one of my greatest pleasures, and not mowing the grass, one of my greatest pains.

But each year I have been at Dominion, I have watched our students and their families struggle through the late winter months, particularly February. For such a short month, it sure can seem long! This "winter weariness" each year is not unlike our current state as Christians. Responding to the suffering we face in the world, Paul encouraged the Roman Christians not to lose heart. As the created world longs for its restoration, he wrote, "we wait for our adoption as sons, for the redemption of our bodies." He went so far as to say that we "groan inwardly" as we wait. But he notes quickly that we do not wait without hope; instead, we hope for what we do not yet see. And in the meantime, he counsels his readers to take comfort in three truths: the Spirit helps us in our weakness; God is sovereign and works for our good; and there is a goal worth reaching, that is, our being "conformed to the image of his Son." (See Romans 8:18-30.)

Encourage your children (and yourself) with these truths. God helps us in our weakness, giving us strength to do the task that is before us now. He is working in and through us for our good, though learning is not always easy. Finally, and most importantly, a worthy goal is ahead of us. For the long term, we are being conformed to the image of our Savior, the Son. We are learning to think Christianly, to put on "the mind of Christ" that our January hymn mentions. In the short term, we look with hope toward spring and summer, and the end of this year of learning labor.

Have a great week, and think with hope of spring (break)!