Winter Thoughts

As I write, it is 29 degrees and 1:00 in the afternoon, odd weather for Mississippi.  It is Monday, New Year’s Day.  The day started out at 17 degrees.  It’s beautiful outside, though, sunny and blue skies.  I’m sitting in the coveted favorite chair, an old but very comfortable recliner in front of the fireplace.  This fireplace is one of the joys of winter.  It’s instant coziness to sit and watch the fire, pretty much thinking of nothing, enjoying the warmth and the flicker of the flames.  My husband keeps the fire going.  During these especially cold nights when the temperature is well below freezing, even during the coldest hours of the morning before light, he’s out bringing in wood off the back porch to keep the fire going.

Yesterday I spent the last morning of the old year at church.  Is there a better way to start a new year! Though the weather is cold, I’m always glad I got out to be with those around me as we worship.    During the service I thought of the comfort of familiar things…being surrounded by friends and family, singing hymns, listening to our pastor, jotting down thoughts from the message I wanted to remember.  The Lord will go before you, (Isaiah 45:2 NIV) and the Lord will make a way.  The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37;23 KJV).  What a joy there is in the reassurance that God’s word is a constant, always there, always speaking truth!   I’m thankful that God raises up those like our pastor to share God’s Word and to be a shepherd to his people.  There is security and peace as I sit listening.  I’m thankful for the faithfulness of his people.

Another joy of this time of the year is the comfort of the family quilts.  These aren’t just any quilts but those stitched by my mother and my mother-in-law.  Both these women understood the value of a good quilt, not store bought but labored over day after day until completion.  Each of my children has a quilt made by each grandmother.  These are beautiful, but I put them out only during special times.  They bring even more color and joy to Christmas.  After the new year, they are carefully washed, folded, and put away.  While they are out, however, they are a reminder of tradition,  of a labor of love.

Another winter comfort is hot soup at the table.  We get peas and beans from the freezer, put up when it was 95 degrees outside, and add a variety of other things to the soup, which will vary from one time to the next. The soup mixture is subject to change, but one thing we always have beside the soup at the table is a big plate of cornbread.  My husband makes the best cornbread.  He uses a cast iron skillet because he thinks cornbread cooked in anything else just doesn’t have the same flavor.  There aren’t many meals better than homemade soup and cornbread.  Just as good, and sometimes better, is the conversation around the table.  It’s a quiet time for sharing the day.

One of my favorite pastimes is reading a good mystery.  I stretch out in the aforementioned recliner, sit a cup of coffee on the side table, and I’m off to wherever the book is taking place.  Now and then I resurface to refill the coffee cup or to throw another stick of wood on the fire, but I like to be enveloped by the settings in the books.  English mysteries are the best; I’ve read all of Agatha Christie’s books at least twice.  These are wonderful to read on a day when you just don’t want to be outside.

These times when I find something quiet to do, no noise going, are what my sister and I call “cabin time” (no cabin needed).   Sometimes you just need to pull away from the world:  the cell phone, the iPad, the tv, and have some quiet time.  If she or I haven’t contacted the other in a day or two, which is rare, we’re having “cabin time,” no explanations needed.  The end of “cabin time” requires a little reorienting to the real world.  She and I each have our own routines during our quiet time and our own reasons for needing it.  I would imagine this is true of all of us.

For me winter is a time of rest to enjoy quiet pastimes:  a good fire, a comfortable chair,  church gatherings, time in God’s Word, warm food, beautiful handmade family quilts, good company, familiar books, and home.  Even if you must be out in the cold, there’s always the knowledge that homecoming is out there.  Isn’t home a comfort and a blessing, and the knowledge that a heavenly home with the Father awaits is the greatest blessing of all!