I find winter depressing and ugly. The bare trees, the gray sky, the chilling cold, the extra darkness. It feels lifeless and drab.
I feel like I am going through a personal winter right now. Where there once was color and joy, things feel dead and gray. I don't necessarily mean emotionally, although it naturally takes an emotional toll too. I mean within myself, spiritually, as I struggle through this season of life that reminds me so much of winter.
Yesterday I looked out the window and saw snowflakes coming down. It was like an extra measure of grace, a bit of much-needed beauty in the midst of the freezing air and the gray sky. And in that moment, I was reminded that beauty is still there. Even in the grayest, coldest season where everything feels lifeless, there is still beauty to be found.
It is the same in one's personal winter; there is still beauty to be found. It may be harder to come by, at times, but it is there. Perhaps in a hug, the kind words of a friend, laughter, a song, thoughtfulness.
I was also reminded that winter is just a season. The winters come and go, but they do not last forever. They are followed by new life, growth, and warmth. Though I may be in a dark place now, it will not last. Spring is coming. Joy is coming. There is hope.
Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
My rays of hope don't only come from the snow, but also from the coming Christmas season. I was listening to the song, Strange Way to Save the World the other day. It really struck me. The physical and emotional toll the Joseph and Mary must have been going through to bring Jesus into the world was probably too much to bear. As the parents of that little baby, I would have had a lot of "Why?" questions as well.
ReplyDeleteAs you read the Bible, people in there had a lot of desert (winter) times, too. It is natural. The way to get through it is to persevere and keep doing what you know is the right thing to do - - staying in the Word, listening to Christian music, and reciting Scripture as well as trying to commit it to memory. Praise God you recognize this as a season. Even though winter is gray some days, on the other days the skies are brilliant blue with the contrast of the bare tree branches. When I see the enormity of the trees and their height, it reminds me of the GREAT GOD we love!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Read some of the Psalms and see David's despair - - even try Ecclesiastes.