The Beauty of Winter

 "From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?" Job 38: 29, 30

    The beauty of winter is often discredited by those who grumble against her. Adorned in white diamonds, her limbs bare their graceful lines that are otherwise obscured by foliage. It's not until God removes the clothing of a warmer time that her exquisite form may be plainly seen. I love winter because of its harsh beauty. Its overlooked because it doesn't come as easily as palm trees that sway their skirts in the sunshine.

    The storehouses of snow have generously blanketed your driveway and you groan, but there's a greater satisfaction in perseverance, in pushing through tough obstacles, for that's when you see Christ grab a shovel and work alongside you. When the long, snowy drive has been cleared and you catch your breath beside the Savior, that's when a grateful feeling of hope settles over you, one that is bourn in accomplishment. It wasn't by your strength alone that your driveway is now passable.

    So it is with life. A fresh coating of snow presents a challenge, one that offers opportunities to see God's brawny strength in action. Will you groan and return to your abode, deflated? Or will you push through?

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1: 2, 3

"...suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5: 3-5