Blooming Under the Snow

   This winter has been one for the books. The ground has been covered with snow and ice since the middle of December. Temperatures plunged to below zero repeatedly with wind chills of -20 on several occasions. Sunday morning church services were canceled three times due to snow. With ponds and lakes frozen solid for weeks, skaters enjoyed a longer season than usual for this part of the world. Last week the temperatures finally rose above freezing and continue to do so this week. The snow pack is slowly melting. 

    My Snowdrops are the first flowers to bloom and usually appear in January. They were buried under a snow drift. Had they come up? And if they had, were they frozen? I had to see. I grabbed a shovel and dug the snow off their spot in the flower bed. There they were! Up and blooming under the snow! Bravo! Now that the sunshine can reach them they will shoot up to herald the new spring that is just around the corner.

     The roots of the Snowdrops are firmly planted in the soil. When their time has come to grow and bloom, nothing can stop them, not even a heavy, cold snowdrift. I asked myself, can I grow and bloom under a heavy, cold burden? Can I sense and reach for the sun even when I can't see or feel it? 

    Life has its heavy burdens and cold seasons. If our faith in God is firmly rooted, we can grow and bloom in spite of the adverse conditions. We know the Son is there and reach for Him even though we don't see Him or understand what happened. 

  Job knew how to bloom under the snow. He said, "Behold I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left had, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:8-10). 

    The secret to blooming in the snow is trusting God, believing the Son is there even when we don't see Him. It is knowing one day all the burdens will be lifted and we will bloom in the Light.

No Cabin Fever

    Winter is the season where life moves indoors and more slowly. This winter has been cold and snowy for weeks. The Susquehanna River is frozen solid. The snow geese usually begin arriving at the Middle Creek Wildlife Preserve this time of year but they are late this year. The lake is frozen and the fields are covered with snow. How do they know to wait because there is no food or water available here?  

   This winter is a delight for folks who love ice and snow. Me? Not so much. It's a time to hunker down and enjoy some of the things there isn't as much time for in the other seasons of the year. Now I am speaking as a senior citizen living in an empty nest. I well remember that in the years when we were raising a family the winter was as busy as any other season. Driving children back and forth to school takes a chunk out of the day five days each week. There were seven lunches to pack every morning and a whole cake was gone in two days. Not to mention all the cleaning, laundry, and you name it that goes with raising children.

   Now the tables are turned. Our children are all married and capable of taking care of themselves, and help us with some of the heavy work like shoveling snow, making repairs in the house etc.  Does that mean I have time on my hands and get bored in the winter? No! I never run out of things to do. I still need to cook, clean, and do laundry. It's not in such large amounts, but I don't move as fast either. I won't mention how many days I took Leroy to doctor appointments. I still had time for all the "fun" things there are to do indoors in the winter. Here are samples of what is keeping me busy.

Writing short stories and historical articles.

Crocheting baby caps and blankets

1000 piece puzzles

Reading books

Scrapbooking

   I will never run out of things to do as long as my hands, eyes, and brain work. I embroidered a quilt top I intended to quilt this winter. I see the winter slipping away and am beginning to think it might have to wait for another winter. As someone once said, "The Good Lord is not going to take me Home until my work is done. I'm so far behind I'll never die." 😄The reason I can't catch up is because I keep getting ideas for things I should do. There's no cabin fever for me!