Is it snowing again? Sigh.
Most of us are getting a little tired of all the snow. Don’t get me wrong, I am delighted by the beautiful snow-covered yards in my neighborhood, and the beauty of snow falling on the mountains and across campus. My daughter and husband spent a couple hours yesterday afternoon making good use of the local sledding hill with our toboggan and old-school runner sled. My dog is a Siberian Husky who is simply overjoyed to play in the deep piles of snow in our yard and up and down the street. I don’t really mind shoveling, and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment when it is done.
But I am tired of being cold. I am tired of wet feet. I am tired of how long it takes to get ready to go out, and an all the difficulties getting somewhere in the snow and ice.
But I also know that in a few months, when summer has settled in, I may well be tired of the heat and the humidity, and I will have plenty to complain about then, too.
There is a season for everything. Quite literally, this is the season for cold and snow. The time for nature to enjoy winter’s rest. This season won’t last forever, and while there are some uncomfortable things to endure, there are also some beautiful parts to this season.
Instead of focusing on the difficulties, discomforts and inconveniences, though, I am going to try and notice and enjoy the joys and the blessings: sunshine glinting on the snow, the joyful shouts of kids and students sliding down hills, the weather-geek enthusiasm of the Weather Channel staff, the quiet of a snow-cancellation day, laughter in a snowball fight.
And soon enough, the seasons will change and I’ll have an entirely different context in which to look for blessings and joys! –ara
Prayer
God of all Creation,
Thank you for the beauty and splendor of this snowy winter.
Help me to look beyond my own inconveniences
to see the beauty and the benefits it brings.
Help me to look at the other challenges in my life differently,
and help me see the beauty and benefits they bring, as well.
Amen.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.