Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Love Like Winter

“He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes." ~ Psalms 147:16
Andrea had always considered herself a one-season gal.  She only enjoyed summer with its hot sun, warm breezes, and cold popsicles.  Summer is for swimming and vacationing, it’s for listening to the cicadas, sipping wine coolers, and smelling lilac blossoms.
But then came the other seasons; fall and spring with their winds and rain and, winter, where everything is frozen and ostensibly dead.  Sure, winter in the Rockies is magnificent, but winter in the Midwest, where Andrea lived, was a brutal battle against the forces of nature: shoveling snow, treacherous roads, and cancelled flights.
Today however, she gazed out the window and gave thanks to God for this day; grateful that while it was winter outside … it was no longer winter inside her heart.  For too long she’d felt like winter languished there.  For too many years the world had seemed cold and harsh.  For – ever, she’d foolishly avoided the warmth of God's love.
After breakfast Andrea pulled on a favorite sweater and slowly sipped a mug of coffee.  She heard the gentle thumping noise as the furnace kicked on and warm air flowed from the heat vents.  She chuckled as her youngest stood on one of the vents to warm his feet.  In spite of the bitter cold on this frozen winter’s day, she felt the fire of His love heating her heart and soul from within.
Outside the grass lay frosted; the ground crunched beneath her feet as she walked the dogs.  The sun was rising but did little to ease the cold.  The snow had a purity that raised her spirit, the world made pristine as a new book full of adventures.  Even the chill on her face felt refreshing.
Andrea saw her breath noting how we don't see it in other seasons.  She caught a snowflake – so whimsical yet geometrically perfect … and watched it disappear.
“God’s a genius,” she thought to herself.  He carefully ordained every ray of sunshine, drop of rain, bolt of lightning, and falling snowflake.  There’s a warmth that tumbles out in the winter time; when all else is so cold.  It radiates from those who love and nurture as easily as they breathe.  In truth, the sparks of kindness are always present no matter the season.
Andrea returned to the house and prepared for the day.  She wondered how much complaining would be eliminated from our lives if we could truly be thankful for the weather we experience each day - the rainy days as much as the sunny ones, and the cold days as much as the warm ones.
Friends - let those perfect plans go.  Slide over that patch of ice, relish the cool breeze, fashion a snow angel.  Soon enough the weather will change.  Maybe you will too.
Almighty Father, don’t let my heart stall in Winter.  Shine Your love and light into my heart and soul, then let me share my Spring with the world.  Amen