Winter is much more than just a season of weather. It can also be a season of the soul.
I’m sure you’ve been through at least one winter season in your life. It’s the season when hard things happen. The season when it may feel like everything is dying inside of you. A time when one thing after another seems to go wrong, or troubles just keep coming after you. It’s a hard season…and often lengthy.
Our family has been through a long winter season.
It’s felt at times, like Narnia, when they thought they might never see spring again. Trapped in a perpetual winter.
Yes, I can understand how they felt, very well. But just as we learn to prepare for and face winter on earth, we must learn to navigate winters of the soul.
We are facing a cold blast here in Oklahoma that started in the wee hours of this morning and is going to last a week or so. Since we knew the storm was coming, we prepared. The kids and I unhooked outdoor hoses and took care to leave all the faucets dripping overnight so that our pipes don’t freeze, much less, burst. We did our weekly grocery shopping a day in advance since the weather was nicer. We pulled out boots and made sure we had coats and hats handy. It’s a time of intention. A time when we must think ahead to prepare. Essentially, we winterized our home.
In much the same way, we must winterize our hearts, so we don’t get metaphorically frozen up, or much worse, burst. This is why it’s important to always spend time reading the Bible daily. It’s important to worship God alone, and with other believers, if possible. It’s important to always be listening to God and if He points out a place in your heart that needs tending, then tend to it now, rather than later when you have a real and much larger problem.
I believe we can often see the winter coming, but other times it seems to appear out of nowhere…and we can be left feeling unprepared, completely lost, and out of control. Unless we focus on always being prepared.
Like the blizzards of the pioneer’s time, we could get lost in a sudden white out. Those storms could come upon them in a moment and leave them without any way to know where they were.
The only remedy for unexpected winter, is to be consistently storing up whenever we are in the kinder and more forgiving months. Just as farmers prepare year-round, so must we…spiritually speaking.
Things will happen in our lives. It’s a certainty. The only question is when, and how do we deal with it?
Don’t feel forlorn though because even winter can bear fruit. This winter that came upon our family revealed places of weakness in our reserves, both physically and spiritually, and for that I am extremely grateful. Now, we have grown so much and with such deep roots, that I am confident when the season changes, we will move forward with much more deliberate hearts.
No matter what season we are in, we can praise the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that great is His faithfulness to us. Greater than any winter we could ever face.
O Lord, I have come to You for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Save me, for You do what is right. Turn Your ear to listen to me; rescue me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a fortress where I will be safe. You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of Your name, lead me out of this danger. Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me, for I find protection in You alone. I entrust my spirit into Your hand. Rescue me, Lord, for You are a faithful God. Psalm 31:1-5
Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. Psalm 146:1-2
365 Days in the Presence 