Monday, December 29, 2025

Dear God,

For many gray and dark days are the worst!  People find dread, gloom and depression.  But I am an oddball.  I love gray, dark days because they beckon me to consider what more is taking place. 

In every other season we clearly see what is happening.  Trees bud in spring.  Flowers burst forth in summer.  Leaves turn amazing colors in fall.  But winter, ah winter, is a time for reflection, meditation and contemplation.

In winter we are visited by shapes and textures.  The lines of dark tree limbs against a white sky and the shapes of snowflakes and icicles and evergreens peeking through the snow help us see what we miss at other times.  Sometimes when hoarfrost comes, trees take on a mystical scene that causes us to see a rare kind of beauty.  

Winter invites us inside herself to dwell with the little things, the simple things of nature and life.  If interested, we can ponder hidden realities, not visible to the naked eye but oh, so exciting to realize.  Trees are so alive beneath the ground working to find nourishment, strength and vitality to produce the wonders of new life in spring.  Flower bulbs are resting in earth's womb so they too will come to life and push through hard, crusty soil producing colorful blooms.  And the birds, yes, the birds feed on red berries left behind for winter enjoyment.  Hardly anything is more beautiful than a red cardinal or bluebird setting on a branch watching tiny white snowflakes gently fall all around them.  

Gray, dark days invite us into the deeper regions of life. We have opportunity to wait and watch, to reflect and consider and wonder and awe (a verb not a noun).  I can hardly wait!

Thank you,

Creator God,

for the gift

of gray,

dark days

and all

their potential.

Open our eyes

and minds

to deep places

where you

await our arrival.

Love, Andrea