"Takatalvi" in Life

Takatalvi - 19.04.16 - Vaasa, Finland

When you start hearing the birds sing, feeling the warmer weather and have longer day time and then it snows and the temperature goes down again, that is just a bummer! "Takatalvi" is how they call it Finnish, its the term for the recurring wintry weather in spring.

Though "Takatalvi" disappoints people, it doesn't stop us from expecting better days ahead, see how people even change their wheels to summer tires even if there is that risk of "Takatalvi", that's because they have the confidence of brighter and warmer days ahead.

Compare that to the wet and dry seasons back in the Philippines, even the la niña and el niño, the storms and disasters may come but hope springs as always. Yes, hope propels our people to vote for a change every election day even if, just the voting itself takes some hassle, even if bad apples get elected every term and even if we have faced a lot of disappointments.


I can't imagine life without hope. But the kind of hope we anchor on makes or breaks us. If my hope come from what I think I can do or from what others can do for me, that hope is limited. When things are out of our control, when we don't have the power to change a difficult situation around, when no one would help us out, when we cannot reach our expectations, it leads us to look beyond human capacity.

"Takatalvi" though a passing thing, it comes in a season where you expect better things to happen so just imagine the disappointment. But "Takatalvi" doesn't change the seasons, summer will come and that's guaranteed! Hope that transcends beyond ourselves makes faith in fruition. This reminds me of this passage in Lamentations 3:22-23 it says,

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

As well as, Matthew 24:35 which says, 

Heaven and earth will pass away, 

but my words will not pass away.

What a great passages to anchor our hope and faith on!