Let it snow...

So there is snow on the ground...

M spent all day on Wednesday waiting for the snow to stay on the ground. Flurries were falling all afternoon, finally by late afternoon the snow had begun to accumulate. So we dug out snowy weather clothes and off the four of them went into the blustery night.

At one point, A ran in and asked what was wrong with her hands. Of course, they were red and cold...dry mittens sorted out the problem. It wasn't until we spent some time with friends that the older girls realized snow pants are just what everyone wears...Mommy wasn't trying to inflict cruel and unusual punishment when she was trying to get them to wear these new article of clothing.

Over the past couple of days the ground has been covered with about 2 inches of snow. It's now mid-morning on Friday and the snow has melted so that green grass in peeking through in increasingly larger patches. The girls are a bit distressed that the snow isn't staying longer...I keep reassuring them that the winter will be long and more snow will come. It's fun seeing winter through their eyes...a new and exciting phenomenon.

For me, the onset of winter fills me with nostalgia...being bundled up and walking to school, snow forts, sliding, evenings skating with cups of hot chocolate, hockey, snow banks...

After being away from the seasons of Canada, each passing season reminds me of the things I love...the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth...the continual renewal of life...seasons of rest and sleep followed inevitably by seasons of growth and harvest.

Reflecting on this leads me to step back and look at my life. I wonder if I am just in that season of rest and sleep, where the harvest is in, the ground has expended its resources and the time is for rest. Which then should lead me to approach my current circumstances in a different manner. I should not be taking on new responsibilities, but looking to invite things into my life that are nuturing. I should not look for harvest, but prepare for the dormancy of winter.