The Sign of Hope

My week had been a nightmare.

Between sickness spreading, friends in the hospital, funerals, gloomy weather, and appointments, it felt like nothing good was happening. I was also nearing the end of a fun online writing program, which meant that week I’d have to say goodbye to my new friends and go back to writing whenever I wasn’t busy – which lately, wasn’t often.

More than that, I felt like God wasn’t answering any of my prayers. From the beginning of November, I’d been praying for snow – which may seem silly, but I hadn’t seen snow in what felt like forever. Christmastime came and went with plenty of rain, but no snow.

As January approached, I began to pray that God would give me job opportunities and show me what He wanted for my future. But as I signed up to visit potential colleges, I still didn’t feel drawn to one career or another.

The nightmarish week came mid-January. I prayed and prayed for God to heal my friends, to help me through this hard time, to give me strength to stay joyful. But the friends remained in the hospital, my schedule got even busier, and I found out my aunt and her family were moving away that spring.

Somehow I made it through the week, continually praying to God but not hearing any replies. Sunday came, and with it, the hope that this next week would somehow be better. But the day started out bad enough – I woke up later than I wanted, the weather was gloomy and the air was freezing, and my sister was leaving the next day to go back to college.

After the morning church service, I sat in my small group class and our conversation soon turned to snow. I thought back to my many November prayers, sighing at the memory of our recent Christmas spent in seventy-five-degree heat.

One of my friends stared longingly out the window. “Yeah, it’s not going to snow.”

I followed her gaze, then did a double take as a flash of white caught my eye. Frowning, I saw another speck, then another and another. Am I hallucinating?

“Is that…” My eyes widened as the flakes turned into a small flurry.

“Guys, it’s snowing!” My friend exclaimed as our group gathered around the window. We stood watching the tiny flakes dancing through the sky, vanishing as they touched the ground. A smile formed on my face, maybe the first real smile all week.

In that moment, I knew God hadn’t abandoned me. He heard my prayers, and He hadn’t forgotten. The snow was a special sign of hope from Him just for me. He really did answer my prayer – it wasn’t in the way I expected it, and it wasn’t right away, but it still happened.

The others returned to their seats, but I just stared at the snow, knowing that God was with me right then and there. Knowing that He’s always with me, no matter what. I just need to be patient and trust Him to answer my prayers in His perfect timing.