What words come to mind when you think of “winter?” Snow, cold, ice, icicles, skiing, Christmas, New Years, white, hats, scarves, mittens, cold, freezing, freezing cold, nature deadness…. If you had asked me 3 months ago if I was looking forward to winter I would have laughed in your face. It is a fairly well known fact among my friends that I don’t care for winter. It’s cold. I’m not one of those people mesmerized by snow. I don’t like being stuck inside. I think boots are ugly.
Well, that was 3 months ago. Since I have been home from Kenya God has shown me a new side of winter that I never really saw before. New words began coming to mind when I heard “winter”: Strength, determination, preparation, beauty, peace, stillness, waiting, intimacy. As I walk through a winter season in my relationship with God, He has graciously revealed these things to me in the actual physical winter around me. Let me tell you, winter in New England can be rough. We had about 5 feet of snow in the span a just a couple of weeks. It was like 3 degrees the other day. Ice covers the ground and causes people to slip (like me). Yet, God’s creation is still standing firm. There is a strength I see when I look around me during this season. A strength and determination that knows spring is coming. I see preparation. Although I can’t literally see this I know that during the winter trees, plants, animals, life in general are preparing for the next season. They are preparing for the bustle of life which is spring. They are resting and waiting patiently for the new growth (which has been slowly happening in the winter) to burst forth in full glory and beauty. I think of how in spring you one day look out your window and its green. It almost came out of nowhere. Just 2 days ago things were still “wintery”- dull and gray. I am beginning to realize the green and new life doesn’t just come out of nowhere. It comes out of winter. It comes out of the waiting and preparation and strength that’s been going on under the surface.
There is also a beautiful stillness that comes after a winter storm. The sun shining through the snow covered trees, the perfectly white blanket of snow that hasn’t yet been disrupted by life, the pops of random color that stand out against the white and black backdrop, the icicles formed on branches and housetops. Amazing sunsets happen in the winter too! There is something so simple and elegant about this beauty. I feel when I walk around my neighborhood I am constantly seeing moments of peace and intimacy. There is something about the winter landscapes that touch my heart in a different way then other seasons have. I can’t fully put into words what I mean but hopefully you’re picking up what I’m putting down.
I am more and more realizing that being in a winter season spiritual is not a season of deadness. It’s not a season of dullness or dreariness. It’s not a season of gray. I am finding that intimacy describes this season of my life better then anything else. God has provided me the opportunity to be with Him and only Him all day long. For awhile I saw this as a horrible thing. But God showed me how much depth would come in our relationship during this time. Sometimes in the spring, summer, and fall we are almost distracted from intimacy because we are enjoying what God has done in us, we are seeing the growth, we are experiencing the joy of pouring out what He has poured in. But sometimes in those seasons we miss out on the simple beauty of just being with God. Winter forces us to just be. At least that has been my experience. I know that I am in a period of waiting, of preparation, of strength, of peace and stillness, and most importantly, I’m in a period of intimacy. Without this winter I would not be able to survive in spring. So many times we want to skip the winter but its vital to our maturity. And there is so much beauty to be found. Well, those are my winter thoughts! Enjoy!
