Winter's Green

It is late winter, so late that the days have begun to warm, the earth slowly turning our hemisphere towards the sun again. Sitting on the banks of the swollen creek I am struck by the abundance around me. There is a constant steady flow of water, quenching the roots near by and splashing life on the moss covered banks, the only green left in this winter-scape. There is life and grace here, even if it not bursting garish like the fall, or timid and coy like the spring, or verdantly languid as the summer. Winter life is different. It is hardy, embedded close to the mud and clay. It remains despite the frost and ice. Millions of little mosslets clumping together for warmth and solidarity outlast the grasses and green leaves. In its humble state it is sustained.

"As a father has compassion on his children,

so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are but dust.

The life of mortals is like grass,

they flourish like a flower of the field;

the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting

the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children’s children—

with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts."

Psalm 103:13-18

We need not be afraid of our feet of clay, he knows that we are "but dust," but instead grow a humble home out of the muddy circumstances we find ourselves in as we press in. Do not despise small beginnings. The moss though so small and dependent holds the banks of the creek back from avalanche. Humility keeps our faith from erosion.

Like the moss we have to situate ourselves close to the constant living water, so close that we are sprinkled and splashed with daily abundant grace. This is the key to making it through the skinny seasons, the cold times, the long hard nights. As every season changes we can be sure that this winter is on its way out, but as it goes we have to learn to remain humble and dependent for there will be another winter, maybe longer than the last. We cannot give into despair. Every living creature needs constant and change, the stability of seasons.


"He spreads the snow like wool

and scatters the frost like ashes.

He hurls down his hail like pebbles.

Who can withstand his icy blast?

He sends his word and melts them;

he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow

He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars

and calls them each by name.

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

his understanding has no limit.

The Lord sustains the humble

but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;

make music to our God on the harp.

He covers the sky with clouds;

he supplies the earth with rain

and makes grass grow on the hills.

He provides food for the cattle

and for the young ravens when they call.

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;

the Lord delights in those who fear him,

who put their hope in his unfailing love."

selections from Psalm 147

Though the Lord holds galaxies in his hand and orchestrates the path of the planets, He cares deeply for you. He see the sparrow fall and the moss grow. He was there in the dark wet womb before our mothers knew we existed crafting you, holding you, loving you. Through this winter and the dark seasons that are ahead he will continue to sustain you, he will heal you, and bind up your wounds, and again the Lord will bring us into spring... oh glorious spring with its life, resurrection, redemption warming the soul like sun on your face.

5 Reasons I Will Be Sad to See Winter Go

Winter needs to leave. It's time already!

Even down here in the south some of us are getting cabin fever and feeling the effects of vitamin D deficiency.

I could fill and entire encyclopedia with things that I will be thankful for as spring arrives, but here is a short list of five things I will be sad to bid farewell too as the climate begins to warm again.



1. Always having a good excuse to make myself a hot beverage. I love tea, adore hot coco, and venerate coffee. As I drift off to sleep I think with delight how wonderful it will be to sip coffee eight hours later in a new day. If you offer me something hot to drink I will pretty much always take you up on it. If you want to ensure that I won't deny you the pleasure of hospitality, then offer me coffee, unless of course you got it from a gas station (excluding QT of course). There is nothing so marvelous as holding a warm cup of delight in cold hands on a grey cold day.

2. Wearing scarves. Winter attire is often bulky and tiresome, but I could never get weary of wearing scarves. They are so pretty and cozy. I love sleeping with my blankets and hands up near my face, so to me wearing a scarf is like akin to staying in bed while functioning at a normal adult level through life. Spring, summer, and fall thankfully have their acceptable versions of scarf, but it is not quite the same as cozy crochet nestled between your chest and chin.

3. Making, eating, and sharing soup. My feelings for soup are not quite as strong as they are for coffee, but I do look forward to the comforting sensation of making and eating soup on a cold winter day. A big pot of soup is so easy to share with friends, and can be eaten off of for the rest of the week. Soup is so simplistic but can also be nuanced and can be crafted from almost anything you have in the kitchen. There will always be a special place in my heart for a hardy warm soup, that summer soups like gazpacho will never fill. 

4. Crocheting. I know that I don't have to give up crocheting when spring arrives, but I inevitably do. There are more outdoorish things to occupy my time in the warmer seasons than making extraneous hats, gloves, scarves, and socks. I am starting an Esty shop to sell some of my crocheted things, so hopefully this hobby will become an income source instead of dropping off. As spring comes I hope to expand my abilities into multi-seasonal projects. I have kept my expectations low, as I have a bag full of discarded projects from winters past lurking in my closet.

5. Celebrating winter holidays. The end of winter seems to drag on but he beginning of it is filled with so many of the celebrations that the child-inside-us looks forward to all year: Christmas with its lights, gifts, and such cozy feelings, Thanksgiving with its colors, food, and family, New Years where we get to start things afresh, putting the old behind and celebrating the new. Honestly after January the holidays are pretty lame especially compared to their early winter counterparts, so it is easy to say "come on Memorial Day," but just as easy to get excited again in a few months about winter's return. 

As the robins return and the spring rains drench the lawn, as our arms and ankles are free to be exposed to the sun again... I will remember winter and its wonders keeping their memories alive until the leaves drop yet again exposing the bare branches.