As I sit in our study, coffee in hand, fire burning, Bible open…I gaze at the peacefully falling snowflakes, each original in design. No two are alike. I giggle because weathermen did not forecast any more snow since early yesterday morning, and yet, God has continually dropped trillions and trillions of individual snowflakes from heaven since then.
Winter is beautiful, peaceful, snuggly…fun. Its frigid cold temperatures will test the inner fortitude of man as he goes about his workday. It brings families together around a campfire, cuddling closely. It’s a time of giving and caring. Snow sledding, skiing, and if you’re brave, hiking. Lots of hot coffee. Large family gatherings and big-eyed kids ripping the paper off their gifts. Hustle and bustle. Christmas decorations frantically going up, trying to outdo last year and your neighbors. Holiday music repeating in the stores. Who’s got the coolest snow pictures? Icicles, freezing temps, frozen pipes, black ice. Four-wheel drive is best. Bright berries pop against the stark white snow flocking the evergreens. Red cardinals sing their song. Peaceful. Cozy. But winter also finalizes the death that fall began.
As it prepares for winter, fall delivers robust, gorgeous color, amazing, feel-good temperatures where windows are open, feel the brisk breezes carry the nostalgic aromas of cinnamon and spice through comfy homes. The season for gathering. Gathering harvests and gathering around tables. The season of preparation for the cold and death of nature that is to come. Colorful leaves begin dropping to cover the ground in a majestic blanket of many colors. Probably my favorite season of all is fall.
Prior to fall, we were greeted with bright blue, clear skies, strong heat from the enormous sun, warm to almost uncomfortable temperatures, green grass, turning brown in some regions due to intense heat. You can hear laughter outdoors, lawnmowers, motorbikes, fireworks. It’s a season of fun, joy, playing, hiking, sunbathing, and swimming. Oceans are teeming with swimmers and children trying to escape the wave. Fishermen seeking to break records with the next big fish. World travels. Backyard barbecues. Family reunions. But before all this could happen it had to spring forth from budding seeds and warming temperatures. Spring.
Spring is another of my favorite seasons. Another opportunity for open windows, fresh, crisp breezes, ripe green leaves budding out, blooms bursting forth, the sun turning up the heat. You might see people just standing or sitting, soaking in the warmth and vitamin D that we so missed the previous cold season. Tops off Jeeps, sunroofs open, windows down, kayaks and canoes strapped, boats hauling behind. The water’s still a little chilly, but who cares? The sun is out! “Spring showers bring May flowers!” And, possibly horrific tornadoes, torrential downfalls, and flooding. “Turn around, don’t drown!” But those flowers! How delightful they are! The aroma of spring! Easter dresses, Resurrection Sunday, family gatherings, photo ops, and what on earth do bunnies have to do with chicken eggs? Don’t forget the spring cleaning, Pine-Sol, almond oil on the wood, screens, and windows cleaned. Everything’s coming to life! Babies are being born.
As I sit here sipping my coffee on this 12°, snowy morning in front of my warm fire with my Bible Abba takes me through his perfection of creation. Who could have the wisdom to design a world such as this? Knowing that things would need to die in order to come to life and reproduce? Who could have known how to bring beauty with ashes? Who could have the power to position the earth to accommodate the circle of life so perfectly? And who could be such a majestic God and author of beauty that he knew exactly how to tell the story of the Gospel through creation, nature, the circle of life, and the four seasons?
But God…
1 Corinthians 15:35-49
John 12:24
Galatians 5:24
Romans 6:8
Philippians 1:21
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Ann Lindholm
Featured Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay
