Winter

Winter Draws On

Or should that be Winter Drawers On? Here in the Northern Hemisphere we are watching the approaching winter with our usual mix of stoic resignation, warm anticipation, dread of cold, and the love of Christmas and all that goes with it. It’s the annual season of goodwill to all men, short mostly dismal days, and long dark nights. To be fair the short days can be stunningly beautiful too as the sun glistens on the frost and snow. And, hey, Santa’s on his way and sleigh bells are tinkling.

Yet I look forward to the Winter for some different reasons. Number one is that we are one step nearer to my favourite season of Spring. If Winter is the dead season, then Spring is the resurrection season. Another reason for me liking Winter is that I don’t have to spend so much time outside doing all those spring and summer jobs around the house and garden. So, how then do I spend Winter. What do I do with myself.

To me, Winter is a season of reflection, reading, learning, and prayer. It is when I lay foundations for the coming year. I like to spend even more time listening to the Lord and receiving His plans for me and my family for the coming year. Just as some wives complain about being a “golf widow” or similar, so my wife complains about being a “computer widow” because I spend endless hours either reading from or writing to my laptop. My blog takes about an hour a day, but then I hear quite a lot of other stuff that requires to be written down for future reading.

Being ‘retired’ means almost anything you care to imagine except sitting back doing very little. Both of us being quite active in our local church means that we often wonder how we ever found time to work for our living. So Winter comes almost as the recharging season when we do actually do slightly less and rest slightly more. It really is the season to re-charge our batteries.

Now, before the howls of protest become too deafening, there is still a lot to do during Winter. After all, if we are to keep Christ in Christmas, then there are Christmas presents to consider, a Christmas tree to set up, Christmas carols to be sung, Christmas cards to write and send, the all-important Christmas dinner to be planned, the Christmas calendar to be sorted out (who goes where, when etc), Christmas guests to be invited, and finally, the Christmas Day church service to be joyfully attended – especially as this year Christmas Day is on a Sunday.

Then there’s the post-Christmas sales to be attended, next year’s vacation to be planned, January snow to be cleared and so on. Then there’s February’s freeze and more snow, followed by March snow and very early gardening to be started. Watching for the first Snowdrop, or Crocus, or even Bluebells is always an important part of late Winter and early Spring.

Yet despite all of these important activities, there is always that little bit of extra time to be spent with the Lord – planning His way and His tasks and His will for us. I am planning to get more into His Word this coming Winter and to sit at His feet more and just listen. It is hard for me to just sit and listen yet it is the one ‘activity’ I most need and have to discipline myself to do. There is a quiet joy too in listening, and even more joy in obedience to His words to me.

The Lord is my peace, my hope, my tranquillity, my great love, and many many more things too. Winter is my season of drawing nearer to Him; of getting deeper into His love; of listening to His quiet, calm voice.

That is why I love Winter – it deepens my love for the Lord, it gets me straight for the coming year, and finally, it makes me appreciate the new birth of Spring.