Savor the Short Days of Winter
As I write, the morning has not quite broken. The twinkling of the porch lights peek into my windows and the two flames of the candle I’ve lit are dancing together in harmony. Before the chaos of the day begins, the stillness quietly beckons me to sit with Jesus and savor the moment.
The winter evenings are upon us, and I make my way home from the office in the dusk. The narrow windy roads can be a challenge, along with the constant need to watch for deer who mindlessly dart onto the road without warning. I am in awe. I pass farms with barns lit up, the fences forming tidy boundaries that follow the windy roads. Silos silhouettes and horses donning winter coats.
I love winter. I love the short days that invite me to cease my striving earlier and enjoy a few more hours reading by the fireplace with a cup of favorite tea, a scented candle flickering about, a FaceTime call with the grands, or simple conversation with friends and family.
Snow has not fallen yet, though the anticipation is mounting. The white snowflakes falling from the sky and collecting on unsuspecting objects make for a glorious scene. Snow days can be another gift to slow down and enjoy the interruption of the normal running to and fro. I love the snow.
Less sunlit hours remind me of our days in Norway. The sun would halfheartedly rise about 10:00 am and put itself to bed around 3:00 pm. The children rode the bus both to and from school in the dark. Every home displayed candles in the windows and smoke billowing from the chimneys. In stark contrast to the summer nights where neighbors would mow their lawns at midnight (because the sun was still shining), the lack of sunlight provided a natural rhythm of slowing down.
As God so often does, He uses His creation of winter days for our benefit, to invite us to adjust our gait from a gallop to a two-step trot, to cozy up and enjoy the candlelit reminder of the Light that shines in the darkness, the Hope that emerges through the stillness, and the Love of Jesus that entices us to slow down.