Monday, December 17, 2007

The Winter of Contentment

Today feels more wintry than any day so far this season - the sky, heavy with clouds, darkens the daylight hours. Stark and barren branches dominate the landscape. A wickedly cold and persistent wind chills to the bones, and the feel of the day throughout is best described as heavy and gray.

Yet I know there is a heart beating underneath the barrenness of the landscape. Life is flowing through nature's hidden veins. Greenness and buds and tender leaves are waiting to arrive. Shoots will push through once cold ground. Flowers will amaze the meadows (and those of us watching on the sidelines) with their color and beauty.

Immersion in spring will tempt us to forget winter - so let us not forget the hope of spring in the gray starkness of now.

Like the tide, our well-being ebbs and flows. We are sometimes in spring, sometimes in winter. Even in winter, the lifeblood of our Lord flows within us - beneath the cold and darkness there are flowers and tender shoots ready to spring forth, promising to leave winter behind.

Do not lose hope in the winter of your days. Our Lord promises spring - it's just ahead!

"Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come..." Song of Solomon 2:12

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I love this post, especially the line "Flowers will amaze the meadows" - how graceful and poetic Esther. Like many I am waiting with bated breath for Spring and welcome your words of wisdom! Thank you :)

Esther said...

Thank you! I see the winter as a bit of a respite from the dreadful heat we get here in summers, so I am currently breathing a sigh of relief. However, the grayness is good only in small doses. I love the sunshine! (And spring is truly my favorite season.)

Locust-Eater said...

Lovely, I was feeling the same way on the 18th, and added a link to your post on mine for that day.

Peace,

LE

Esther said...

Hello, Locust-eater! I visited your blog - your poem is BEAUTIFUL, chilly and hopeful, all at the same time! :)