Winter

It is only January and yet it feels like Winter has been present for months. Cold air, snowy streets, and shortened days are all making their place known. I sometimes find myself lamenting about not being able to go for walks with my daughter outside as frequently as I would want to like in the other seasons. Though living in the Midwest for close to a decade, my Texas blood is still not a fan of the bone cold temperatures or scraping ice or snow off the car in said temperatures. Can't it just be spring already?!

No. No it can't.

We have to have a full season winter in order to get to spring. At the same time, all these "uncomfortable" things that happen during the winter allow for some beautiful graces and opportunities. What other time of the year can you make snow angels and build a snowman outside? When else can you wake up to a call from school saying, "We're closed today!" and go back to bed for another hour or two before spending a day with your children? What other time of the year can we snuggle up with our loved ones next to a fire? (Ok, maybe you do that all year...)

Similarly, the season of life you may be finding yourself in currently may feel like winter - a coldness and more darkness than light. You may be yearning for this time to be over and onto the next thing. However, God placed you in this exact moment for the experiences you are having right now with graces and mercy our humanness cannot fathom. In the season you may be experiencing perhaps it has allowed for you to grow closer to a family member that you may not have otherwise gotten to. Maybe, this season has allowed for you to grow in a particular virtue that you had been struggling with for some time. Perhaps, this season has allowed for you to be more loving to others finding themselves in a challenging/difficult/hard circumstance.

Winter will not last forever. Your season of life will not last forever. One day we will wake up and it will be Spring. One day we will wake up and this season of life will be in the past and we will be onto the next part. So while we wait, enjoy the snow, the cold, and the shortened days because there may be a time that we look back on this time and say to ourselves, "Man, I miss the winter."

****

Father God, 

In this season of life that I am in I ask for your presence with me. Help guide my eyes to see the beauty of this time and whatever uncomfortable as an opportunity to walk closely with you, Lord. 

In your name, Amen.

****

Simply a little pencil in God's hand,

Elizabeth