Winter Words

Winter.  Cold.  Freeze.  Snow.  Chill.  Ice.  Wind.  These words and others are often used starting about now and continuing for the next three or four months.  It’s winter; maybe not by the calendar—winter officially begins around December 21.  But according to the temperature, the wind chill, and the discomfort, it’s winter.

As we age, we tend, I think, to look forward to winter less and less.  There’s more chance of our breaking something if we slip and fall.  We feel the cold a little more deeply in our bones each year.  The time change seems to affect us more than it used to.  And the chill and the dark remind us that we’ve lived far more years than the number of years we have left to go on this earth.

Winter means pneumonia.  It means broken bones.  It means falling.  It means colds and flu.  For those of us who are older, it’s not a really great time of the year.  Yet winter can have its beauty and its majesty.  Winter can be a time when our sinuses take a rest from making us miserable because the pollen and weeds are dead and gone.  Winter can be a time of family gatherings and seeing relatives and friends we seldom see otherwise.  And winter can be a time of renewal…a time when we plan for the coming seasons and take stock of where we’ve been.

I know I’m getting to where I like winter less and less, most of the time.  The cold seems deeper and the darkness seems more overwhelming than it used to.  If I’m fortunate to live a long life, I have about 20 winters to go.  I need to get over this notion of winter being a time that I don’t like (OK, “despise” is a better word), and begin to appreciate it more for what it is and the importance that it is to the environment.

For you see, without winter, there would be no spring.  Without winter snows, there would be fewer spring crops.  Without winter, the weather would be so boring and ordinary.  And what about Christmas?  What is Christmas without winter and the chance of a white Christmas?

You know, as I think about it, maybe winter isn’t so bad after all.  Maybe winter can be a time of recovery, renewal, and anticipation.  Maybe winter can be a time when we recover a sense of balance in life, renew relationships, and anticipate the spring to come.

Winter.  Opportunity.  Renewal.  Balance.  Relationships.  Anticipation.  I think I like those words better.

The Moments of Today

There’s a definite chill in the air.  The leaves are yellowing and falling off of the trees.  The grass is turning brown.  Days are much shorter.  And nature is beginning the process of yet another winter of slumber and hunkering down against the cold that is sure to come.

We humans also prepare for the winter to come.  We get out the hot chocolate, break out the sweaters and winter clothes, and make sure the car has the right level of antifreeze in it.  We bring in sensitive plants, roll up our garden hoses, and find books to read and games to play during the long winter nights.

But all is not quiet in nature.  Winter birds take over territory previously occupied by their summer friends.  Turkey, deer, and other animals stay all winter, foraging on what is left over from the summer growing season.  Other animals burrow underground or hibernate for the winter so they can be ready for the coming spring.

It is, or rather should be, a time for people to remain active as well.  There are school plays, basketball games, and other winter sports.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner, and the long winter months of January and February are broken up by winter trips, playing in the snow, and enjoying the cold weather.

There are places on the earth that are perpetually cold.  There other places that are perpetually warm.  But there is a huge swath of the earth that is, as we say, temperate.  The climate changes from warm to cold and back again.  There is a definite change of seasons and with it changes in human activities, moods, and feelings.  S.A.D. or Seasonal Affective Disorder is real.

We can go outside and look at the brown grass, the bare trees, and the cold breeze, and long for spring.  And I do that sometimes.  But I can learn to appreciate the autumn season and the winter that comes after.  I can also appreciate the God who in His wisdom made it this way and called His creation good.

I have to also remember that I have many more winters in my past than I will have in my future.  There will come a day when I’ll no longer be concerned about the leaves falling or the extreme cold.  And that day will come for me sooner than later.  I must cherish the moments of today and the promises of God for tomorrow…and understand that I am on a journey toward forever.  And it’s what I do and think in this life in this time that will determine just how I will experience that forever.