Well-meaning platitudes pound like hailstones on a shelter already roofless by the storm. We offer them because they are all we have. Life giving water turned to ice, freezing the heart. Cold isolation drenched in tears that wash away even the memory of happiness. Where is hope? Where is the promise? Did we ever see it or was it an illusion? We must believe. We must hold on or be swept away by winds of disappointment. The storm passes. The sun shines, but it serves only to illuminate the destruction. Still we cling to hope, because life is precious. Jesus is that life and He shines brighter than the sun. We hope, and we live, because He lives.