Winter

"Winter, winter, where are your leaves?
Billowing blossoms and nests within trees?
Why do you hide the most precious of sights?
The music and lullabies of birds taking flight?

Oh winter, harsh winter, so cold and so dim...
Reaching out for me...yes, biting within.
I hide in shadows of fire dancing on logs,
Under blankets and pillows, alone to my thoughts.

Oh winter, long winter, your days will soon end.
The sun will appear with life once again.
My waiting and sighing will be overturned,
by dancing and singing for spring has returned.
I will bask in the sunshine when all things are new,
The frost is no longer, replaced now by dew.

Winter, oh winter it seemed long ago,
That my heart seemed frozen in time by your snow.
But alas I have found a new strength and new zeal,
For far beyond winter is summers appeal."  
Poem by Cindy Butow 

It's interesting how we celebrate the birth of Jesus in the winter. Winter is such a transitional time where the old things die and fall to the ground making way for new things to sprout up again when the season is over. Winter is cold, there is more dark than light, and it is long. Winter can be hard even in its beauty, testing our strength and ability to cope…it pushes our limits and if caught unprepared, can steal our life away. But for those who endure, springtime will come! Introducing new things that we could not see in the winter. New colors, fragrances and experiences. All things are made new again as they spring back to life! The daylight is longer and the darkness is held back by the warmth of the sun. We are free! No longer contained by four walls, but we can shed our layers and run barefoot through the grass again! Jesus, the One who proclaimed, "Behold, I have come to make all things new! I have come to bring life and life more abundantly!!!"…is celebrated in the dead of winter, just before the ushering in of spring. I pray that this Christmas we will all be reminded that spring IS coming, no matter how dark and cold things may feel, the sun will shine again on your life and the ones you love...