Who wants a white Christmas? NOT ME!!! As the snow continues to fall the romantic notion of a white Christmas disipates and the harsh reality of logistical nightmares in sub-zero tempratures that confine us to the house takes hold we contemplate the need for such weather. I think that in doing so what we actually do is question the judgement of God and hold him accountable to our own standards. Each day I walk my dog through the woods along the lane at the back of the manse; in my time of doing this I’ve watched the trees and bankings on either side frame the seasons. In the spring life emerges from the ground and buds burst out on the branches of the trees as the cycle begins again. In the summer the foliage in thousands of shades of green presents itself in a canopy so dense that you barely get a glimmer of sunlight yet all around wild flowers litter the woodland floor. Some of it so tiny and so striking you imagine it painted by a miniature Monet. In the autumn the leaves fall to the ground ands seeds of all shapes and sizes are harvested by the multitude of life who habitate the woods. Rotting leaves becomes nutrition for the soil and then winter sets in. That’s where we are now; it’s a sort of nothing season, we describe spring, summer and autumn by what’s happening yet winter seems to be defined by lack of activity. Combine this with the fact that it’s cold and miserable and we ask “What was God thinking of when He created Winter?”
We need to remember the context of God and his loving Fatherhood. He gave us a Sabbath to regenerate ourselves; this was born of his grace and compassion. Winter is the sabbath of the land, it’s the lands time to rest and generate new strength for the new year. This isn’t born from God’s love of the land but His love for us. Out of His provision and genius we enjoy fresh food throughout our lives. As I look out my study window into the falling snow I need to change the way I view it. I’ll take a Sabbath to pray and reflect and to remember as God’s love regenerates the ground His love has also regenerated my life by the birth, life, ministry, death and ressurection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
