During this month, we have reflected on the different seasons we experience during our lifetime – both the chronological stages of our years and the emotional seasons that shift more quickly and influence the rhythm of our lives. Winter is often experienced as the difficult times of life. Today, we think about physical ageing as part of the winter season of our lives.

 

It is the time when the body begins to slow down, when the lines on our faces begin to tell the story of years lived and when the worries of yesterday no longer blow away as easily as they did in the springtime of youth. But even in this season – perhaps especially in this season – there is a particular kind of hope that takes root deeply.

 

Paul writes to the Corinthians about this hope. He acknowledges that the outer person is indeed wasting away. This is not a denial of reality. Paul does not try to hide the fact that suffering, ageing and deterioration are part of our earthly journey. However, he places it alongside a greater truth: the inner person, the spiritual being, is being renewed day by day.

 

What a wonderful comfort! While our bodies may no longer run or remember as they once did, God is still forming something new and eternal within us. This “light and momentary trouble”, as Paul calls it, may feel like too much for us to carry, but compared to the glory that awaits, it is temporary and light. This reminds us that every season, even the winter of life, carries meaning within God’s eternal plan.

 

Winter brings silence. The trees stand bare and the wind cuts through our clothes. But it is also in winter that the roots grow deepest. Beneath the surface, there is movement – preparation for new life. This is how God works in us. Even when we do not see outward growth, he is preparing us for a glory that we cannot yet fully comprehend.

 

The hope we have in Christ is not superficial. It is not a naive optimism that denies what we go through. It is a steadfast trust that God uses even the hardest seasons to work something eternal in us. That is why we do not give up. Even when our eyes begin to fade, we see more clearly through faith. Even when our hands begin to tremble, God holds us with his unchanging hand.

 

Let this winter season of your life not be a time of loss. Let it be a season in which you experience God’s presence most deeply. Let your hope not rest in the body or circumstances, but in the One who renews your inner being day by day.

 

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you walk with us not only in the spring and summer of life, but also in its autumn and winter. Renew my inner being, even when my body feels tired. Teach me to draw hope from your eternal perspective. Help me to live each day with expectation, knowing that you are forming something glorious within me. Amen.