It’s mid-December in the foothills of NC and I’m currently sitting on the back porch barefoot in shorts and a tee shirt. The high temperature today is almost sixty degrees Fahrenheit and will probably be the only day like this in the foreseeable future. In a little while, I hope to “layer up” and get a good ride on my Ønewheel before the sun, too quickly, disappears below the horizon.
Over the last several years I’ve really reconnected with my love for the outdoors. Years ago, when I was into snow skiing, I embraced the winter much better than I do as a Ønewheeler. Today I try to trick my brain when I go out, telling myself it’s no different from being on the side of a mountain on skis. It is, though, different, and it should be.
Since I ride my Ønewheel all year long—what a blessing, by the way—I am keenly aware of the cold temps and shorter days of winter. It is way too often that I’m trying to rally myself outside and I truly miss all three other seasons. I am thankful for the winter, though, for it is the winter that reminds me of how amazing sunshine truly is.
As a year-round lover of the outdoors, I have learned that winter’s blessings are often harder to see while summer’s are too easily taken for granted. Climate control is convenient, always providing an escape, but the experience of seasons provide a significant contribution to life.
“God made the nations so they would seek him, perhaps even reach out to him and find him. In fact, God isn’t far away from any of us. In God we live, move, and exist. As some of your own poets said, ‘We are his offspring.’”
Acts of the Apostles 17:27-28 CEB
We have far less control of our seasons of life (ups and downs, highs and lows) but just like the distinct seasons of Western North Carolina weather, each reveals the amazing. In life’s winters, we may have to look a little harder and hold onto what we discover a little tighter but we are learning and growing all the while. Summer’s promise is ahead and perhaps this next one we will appreciate even more because of all that this winter reveals!
Ramblings of a Faithjunkie 