Winter Wonderland

The new birth of springtime, the wholesome beauty of summer and the glory of autumn foliage inevitably submit each year to the bareness of winter. Cold and gray, the trees and mountaintops seem to lose their beauty to desolation until…snow.

The snow brings a beauty all its own, as a pure gentle blanket covers everything with a profound natural elegance. There is nothing like the quiet glory of a new fallen snow. At the time of the year that seems most devoid of life, overnight the world is miraculously transformed into a magnificent sparkling new creation.

We go through similar seasonal cycles in our lives. Springtime comes with new and exciting events, advancements and opportunities. Summer occurs as we become proficient and productive, working hard and long, feeling fulfilled. Autumn is a place of achieving goals, ending chapters and receiving harvest for what has been. Winters are those times and situations where we fail, fall short, lose heart and feel lost. These are lonely times where our weaknesses are uncovered and things get hard and cold.

It is during these ‘soul winters’ when God’s blessing power is most spectacular. Like a silent fresh snowfall transforms the world to beauty, so the Lord transforms troubled human souls from pain and hurt to love and life. Jesus Christ gave his life on the cross to end the season of soul winter for all people. To those who will receive Him, as the scripture promises “Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18