Enter Winter With Thanksgiving

by Mary Hill
Published November 19, 2005

Thanksgiving comes in a season of contradictions in my home state. One day the winds blow blustery cold. The next the sun brings record warmth and it feels like a day for swimming. In fact, most of the United States has had a warm fall this year.

I long for winter during the fall months as the leaves burn bright on the trees then turn brown and float to the ground. The mounds of leaves pack the grounds. Gardeners know to leave them rotting, the decomposition will add many nutrients to spring flower and vegetable beds.

Fall is such a short season. The time changes and days grow shorter. The season signifies a time of dormancy when life freezes and takes a rest. Then we enter winter, a time of stillness and cold.

I meditate on Psalm 147: 15 -18.
15 He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. 16 He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes; 17 He casts out His hail like morsels; Who can stand before His cold? 18 He sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

I remember a saying, “the winter of our discontentment.” This statement rings so untrue. Winter is a time of dying to our pasts. It is a time of waiting on the Lord, being still, and rediscovering who He is. I long for the cold. I long for His breathe of ice, His snow, His frost. I want to be snowbound so I will learn to be still and to know He is God. Winter is a time of contentment.

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