Let’s Talk About the Weather
Every winter Texas has a few cold snaps. One of those was this past January, and we are actually experiencing a mild one as I write these words. But Texas bounces back quickly. Going from the 30s to the 80s is a normal swing.
Welcome to Texas.
I prefer the cold over the heat. It’s easier to warm up than cool down. I obviously live in the wrong state. I’m usually pretty uncomfortable on the first day of a freeze but by day three or four my blood thickens up and I get used to it. I even began to enjoy it.
Back in January, we had a freeze come through and then the next day it was nearly 70 degrees. On that random warm and sunny day I was at a local gathering of church workers and we broke off into groups to pray with one another (Cliché sounding, I know). My group decided to go outside because the chapel we were in was still frigid inside. As we went outside, into the awful heat, I jokingly asked my group if we could sit in the shade because I didn’t want to sit in the hot sun. They laughed at me, thinking I was kidding, but I wasn’t. So, we all sat in the cool shade on that horrible sunny, blue sky, 70-degree afternoon. I won.
Towards the end of our time together the sun began to shift and where I was sitting was the only seat that the sun began to cast its life-sucking rays of warmth on. As the sun started to shine on my face my friends could see I was squinting and that I looked uncomfortable and they asked if I wanted to move to the other side of the circle back into the shade.
I said that the sun actually felt kind of nice, and besides my cold bitter heart needed to be warmed up by the shining sun.
In that moment I was reminded how easy it is to let our hearts grow cold towards the Lord. Much of life feels more like the long, cold, dark days of winter than the sunny refreshing days of spring and summer. It’s easy to get used to the cold and dark. We get used to bundling up and hunkering down… slowly becoming isolated from the world around us.
My family and I are still mourning the loss of Cheryl as we prepare for her memorial this coming week. It still feels like winter. But I pray we don’t get too comfortable in this season. I don’t know how long this season will last, or if we will ever fully leave this season.
But God used that random 70-degree day to remind me that his love is still shining on us even though we prefer the cold to warmth right now. Just like the warm sun felt uncomfortable at first, God’s love can feel uncomfortable at times, especially when we have distanced ourselves from him for a season. But if we are patient and let the sun slowly warm up our chilled bodies, we can begin to feel the life come back into our fingers and toes. We can begin to open up our hands and arms to a more inviting posture, rather than curled up into a little ball.
As we sit in the presence of God’s love, he begins to bring life back into our spirits. We can begin to enjoy him again, slowly. It may feel foreign at first, but with enough time, and enough patience the warmth of his love can begin to feel normal, not alien.
So, as winter begins to fade away and spring begins to slowly creep up on us I pray that you begin to invite the warmth of God’s love into whatever season you may be sitting in at this moment.
Grace and peace till we rise in glory.
