When I was visiting my home in rural Illinois for Christmas of 2020, there was no snow. I would visit the desiccated cornfield of my backyard and inspect the shriveled plants that waited in my mom’s garden—waited for spring.

This carousel post I made for my Instagram uses photos I took of those plants to represent the desolation and hope that exist side-by-side as we celebrate the birth of Israel’s Messiah and wait for his second coming.