Embracing Winter

I’ll be completely honest.

I loathe winter.

I am not a fan of being wet or cold and winter promises both of these things. As a homebody, I do enjoy the cozy things – the blankets, the sweaters, the soups, the hot chocolate. But you won’t find me playing out in the snow on my own accord.

But that doesn’t mean I have to dread each day of winter. I can still savor a season that I don’t love. In fact, I believe there’s power in that. While the temperatures don’t change and the frigidity still aches me down to my bones, my perspective can change.

In the midst of a dreary season, my vision doesn’t also have to be. I can still seek the beauty and find it, finding myself thriving in the winter instead of merely surviving until spring.

Barrenness doesn’t mean a thing when I see a blank canvas set before me. The frigidity doesn’t seem as harsh when my breath forms art in the atmosphere. The snow isn’t my enemy when I realize it is my ally in protecting the purity of the foundations of the earth.

I don’t have to frolic in the elements to prove my allegiance to the season. That would just mean I’m faking it. But I do have the ability to choose to find beauty and operate out of joy, a fruit found in eternal posture and not circumstances.

Embrace your winters, even if it’s hard. The circumstances may not change for a while, but your vision can. Finding Him in it changes everything. Spring may be just around the corner, but winter is in the here and now. We were created to thrive. Not just survive. If we’re just surviving, our brokenness, pain, sufferings, disappointments and grief remain deeply rooted, cycling over and over into winter until we finally have the courage to let these things expose themselves and be dealt with.

Papa cares deeply about our wholeness. His will is for us to be everything He has created us to be. He will sit with us in our winters and carry us through, while repairing our broken bones and bringing peace to our deepest turmoils.

So here’s to our winters.
Here’s to the beauty in it all.
Here’s to finding Him.
Here’s to wholeness.