Ahhhhhh, the season of cold, snow, and a hot coffee when you’ve had enough of both. In some places in the country, winter means snow to shovel, while in other parts of the county, kids may be rushing to their windows each morning hoping it finally snowed last night like the weatherman said it would.
Snow or no snow, winter is so much more. There are those who enjoy the cozy spot by the fireplace, (with their craft projects of course.) Give them a cup of coffee or hot coco and a nice warm blanket and they are perfectly content to watch the snow fall outside their windows. There are those who will still jump up and rush for their jackets and mittens when they see the snow outside- even if it’s the twenty-fifth snow of the season! And then there are those who will shrug off the cold cloudy days with a,“If it were hot you’d be complaining too!”
Then there are some who absolutely cannot stand it if that weatherman says one more time, “There’s a good chance of a few more inches of overnight snow in our area!” Yes, you know who you are. Those of you whose only warmth in this cold season, is your thoughts of hot summer days in the sun. Those people who long and yearn for the frosty days to just melt away, and pray God spring comes soon. Those who can’t wait to leave behind the thoughts of catching colds, and snow delays, and can’t wait till the trees in the park have leaves again! Especially near mid-winter, it’s like a tug of war between those who are pulling us out into the cold calling “Let’s go play in the snow!”, and those groaning, “I’m not joking this time. If the temperature dips one more time, I’m going to go on a vacation in the tropics!”
Yes we’ll all admit that winter is tough for some. Have you ever heard the saying that it may be winter in a person’s life? It may just be referring to that feeling of going through a time where life seems to have you frozen in a hard or difficult situation. It’s like you’re walking through a forest of bare trees, and your locked outside in the cold. Times when all you want is to move on to something new and leave all you’re dealing with behind you, and to rest from trudging through snowdrift after snowdrift of disappointment.
There may be times like this in any person’s life. Christians may even go through times when they feel they have been put into a “winter” in their life.
But there may be a deeper sense of the phrase “winter in my life.” Perhaps we can use this to describe the state of someone who has not come to the “Son” and found the joy of accepting Christ into their lives yet. It would seem to be a winter in the life of a person in that state. Someone whose winter is never ending. The frostbite of sin has chilled them, while their being blown about by the winds of this world. They may have tried again and again to find warmth from so many places, which have only taken what warm coat they had. It’s like they’re wandering, wandering, searching, searching for something, for a light in the dark days, a hope beyond this cold barren time. An escape from the weight of guilt and shame hanging over them like a mountain avalanche, treating to cover them at any moment.
Perhaps you’ve experienced such a winter. Had it been spring, or
summer, perhaps you could have fared just fine on your own. But not now
that winter has come. Not when you were locked out in the cold. Not
when all you wanted to do was crawl under the covers and wait for
spring.It’s a good thing winter does not last forever. Even Antarctica sees spring sometimes! And it’s even better for those souls who are experiencing a spiritual winter in their lives. For those of us who have come out of that winter, into the sun and warmth of God’s grace and forgiveness, we know that there is certain hope for those that still are trudging through winter's dark nights. We know from experience that sometimes the heart can grow colder than even the weather outside. But we have hope. We live in a spiritual “summer” where the “Son” is always there to give us light, hope, and comfort. The cold blizzard winds don’t frighten us anymore!
What’s better, we have what we need to rescue those around us from their “winters of the heart.” God has placed us in places where we can come alongside those struggling through the drifts, and offer them the hope of an eternal life. We have the opportunity to share the warming cup of God's truth to these wintered souls. We can wrap them around with the toasty blanket of God’s gospel of love. And to share with them the secret to the way out of their winter.
When we find ourselves in situations like these, we have only to point the way and say, “Look to the cross! Look to the Son upon the cross! See the sunshine of hope and grace! Now run to the place where the flowers grow on Calvary's hill, and where the “Son” not only warms you, but walks with you! Leave this winter behind and come walk into the spring! Smell the fresh flowers of God’s mercy and bask your worn soul in His everlasting light!”
We can rejoice in all God’s seasons. We can be just as happy in winter as in spring, summer, and fall! Those that enjoy winter, along with those that would rather it be over, can rejoice together that God has set this time to teach us. We can all take great delight in the fact that God has created a place in our hearts were we can escape the cold winters of our lives, and join Him in the glorious springtime! So the next time you find yourself being dragged outside to make a snow angel, or have to listen to the complaints of someone whose got the wintertime "blues", or even find yourself praying God would use you to help and pull someone from their “winter in their soul”, just take a moment and remember, no matter who you are, the weather is always just right in heaven!
- The sisters behind Heaven’s Design Yarnworks.
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