Winter Reminders

As I bundled up recently to take Lizzie back to the vet and it was raining that snowy kind of rain I thought of winter and what it can teach us. Every season has something to teach us, but what could the cold,cloudy etc… weather teach us?

For one it can teach us about endurance, just look at the trees, they may temporarily lose their leaves, flowers and look barren, and bare, yet they are still strong in their roots. The snow, each flake has a geometric shape and though it might turn to ice and create a mountain one has to climb over, it also serves to cleanse. When it rains, drizzles, that drizzle, and a few clouds can actually be romantic, so even the rain can be mystic. See if we can survive the cold of winter, we can survive pretty much anything in life, every boomerang.

Winter is also a time when nature takes a step back, when it takes a rest before the blossom of Spring. Often we don’t known when to say, no or to take a step back. We are on this never ending treadmill, so winter can teach us to stop, rest, recharge and it’s okay to do so. There also needs to be adaptability to change in circumstances, just as nature, trees adapt. Throughout life there will be changes that are necessary, or thrust upon us suddenly and we need to adapt, something winter and nature can teach us. It can also teach us about the virtue of patience, since we have to wait for the blossoming to begin, so patience is a great lesson nature can teach us, as well as enjoying the simple things of life, time cuddled up with loved ones.

Nature is about change, adapting to change, even sudden ones. We often don’t realize what a great gift God gave in giving us nature, the seasons and all they can teach, so let’s not begrudge winter, but rather learn from it and if we are fortunate see how we can make someone’s winter a little bit brighter.

I came across this poem and wanted to share it with you.

Shimmering lakes of silvery ice
welcomes skaters’ scarring slice.
Hills adorned in lacy white
watch children sleigh into the night.
In the brilliant pristine light,
snow birds in tall trees take flight.
Evergreens draped in capes of snow,
their heavy branches hanging low,
blanket earth as north winds blow.
Winter’s dance is quite a show,
an ice-kissed, dazzling, magical place,
transformed by winter’s cold embrace!

Patricia L. Cisco. “Winter’s Embrace.” Family Friend Poems, December 28, 2017.