Snow…and more snow! The Polar Vortex has once again shocked us with…c...c..c.cold
and snow! And, from what the weather station predicts…it looks like more is on
the way! More of remembering to open the
cabinet doors under the kitchen sink, and keeping the water dripping on all the
faucets just to make sure that the pipes don’t freeze and end up waterless in
the morning. Oh, the joys of winter in
central Illinois!
I don’t know about you, but cold does something to me
emotionally. It makes me cautious. I find I am more careful about where and how I
drive, just in case I get stranded in the cold.
I am careful how long I stay outside, how far I walk, and what I wear. People living in the country have to make
sure they have enough propane in the tank or whatever they use to heat their
homes. It is not the type of weather to run out of heating fuel. The cold makes me very aware of my
vulnerability and mortality. It makes me more prayerful. I pray just before I
turn the key in the ignition that the car will start. I prayed for others on the road when it turns
bad out. When we woke up the next morning and find our pipes intact, the
furnace running and the light switches working, it’s a good place for a prayer
of gratitude.
The cold brings to mind my dependence on God, and I
cannot help but be thankful to Him. I
realize that if I lived here a couple of hundred years ago, then the cold could
have killed me. I am thankful I live with all the conveniences of modern times
to keep me warm and protected from the cold.
Many of the sicknesses and diseases that the cold brought on by cold are
treatable now. That wasn’t the case in centuries past. When transportation was
horse and wagon, and not a comfortably heated automobile, one risked one’s life
to travel.
You could say that the cold is good for my soul. It
makes me very thankful to God. It makes me grateful for what I have. It makes
me more appreciative of friends. The cold even fosters community. There is nothing like finding occasions to
get together for meals and fellowship when it’s too cold out to do anything
else. It can be a great time for the
church. Cabin fever can be a real
malady. The cure is fellowship. It is community with one another. It is “koinonia”. The cold also encourages fellowship with God.
Not for everyone of course. It keeps many away from church rather than bringing
them out. But the cold has the opposite effect on me. It melts my heart and
softens my soul. It strengthens my spiritual bond with God and others.
Don’t get me wrong!
I will be glad to see the spring come!
I will be thanking God for the muddy roads! But, for the season, I will practice the
spiritual discipline of cold weather spirituality. With a covering of snow on the ground and more
c…c…cold weather predicted for this Sunday…it sounds like perfect worship
weather!
No comments:
Post a Comment