Winter Reflections: Embracing the Season

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It's no secret to those who know me, I am not a fan of winter! I don't like being cold, I don't like the long dark gray days we can have here in the Pacific Northwest and long nights. Each year I seem to go into a winter funk.

Last year I decided to try something new and that is, learn to embrace each season for it's uniqueness and difference from the last. Find the positive, find the blessings. As long as I continue to tell myself I don't like winter, I won't see anything different.


Here is some of what I have discovered.


Winter is a lot about resting. The trees that look dead are not dead, they are resting in preparation for the spring.


In the past very little to no traveling was done in the winter. People rested. Not the rest and sleep type rest as life still has to go forward each day. The type of rest that you do when you can't move about as easily as other seasons.


The type of rest where more time is spent at home with family or friends. Maybe more time for reflection is done when life has slowed down a bit.


“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” - Edith Sitwell


Winter is a time for cozy warmth. Over the years I've loved to bake and make pots of soup for my family. The heat from the oven helps warm the house and the smells of food cooking on winter days have made a lot of memories.


While winter continues on outside, inside is warm and full of sensations you don't experience at other times in the year.


“The cold was cruel. The night was black and still, and the stars were tiny sparkles in the sky. Almanzo was glad to get into the big kitchen, warm with fire and candle-light. He was very hungry.” - Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder


“It was so wonderful to be there, safe at home, sheltered from the winds and the cold. Laura thought that this must be a little like heaven, where the weary are at rest.” - The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder


“They were cosy and comfortable in their little house made of logs, with the snow drifted around it and the wind crying because it could not get in by the fire.” -Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder


Winter has a purpose even if we can't always see it or we don't feel it. The Lord created the seasons for our lives and there is always something to appreciate about each one.


“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” ~Genesis 18:22


“It was You who set all the boundaries of the earth; You made both summer and winter.” ~Psalm 74:17


She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. ~Proverbs 31:21

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven ~Ecclesiastes 3:1


If I find myself starting to feel that “winter funk” I pause and reflect on the positive and know that winter is not a time to endure but a time to embrace and learn to enjoy the uniqueness of the season. It's a time to rest, to plan for the months ahead, it's a time to be grateful for the warmth of the fire in the wood stove and fresh bread baking in the oven. It's a time for a new book to read or a new project to work on. It's a time to slow down a bit as we wait for the sleeping world to begin to wake up and start the cycle of a new season once again. It's a time to find the rhythm of the season and be at peace with it.  




Comments

  1. AngelaJanuary 28, 2021 at 11:24 AM

    Lovely! Not a fan of winter either but it is a wonderful time to fluff the nest! I am painting our guest room top to bottom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CrystalJanuary 28, 2021 at 2:53 PM

      Sounds like a perfect winter time project Angela :D
      -Crystal :)

      Delete

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All messages are moderated. After approval your message will be posted. Thank you for your comments!! Crystal :)

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