A New Year’s Reality
The new year has gotten off to a pretty rough start for the Werner family. We haven’t had that fresh beginning, that energized hope, that motivated pursuit. No. No. Most of us have been flat out on the couches, sick as dogs since the new year and are just now coming back from it. (Once again, the ideal slips through the fingers.)
Most of those days were also rainy and cold. This only added to the overall feeling of misery.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
— Martin Luther King Jr
Just as I began to lose hope that we’d ever be well again…it snowed.
Snow is the magical covering making all things right. Snow is heaven’s dusting of hope piling like manna outside our doorstep. Snow is the captivating quiet of miniature graces delicately dancing on winter’s breeze. Snow puts smiles on faces.
We didn’t exactly feel like getting out in it, but how could we not. We walked around a little and listened to the crunching under our boots. Deklen took a few tastes and cleared all the ledges. Then he and I took a few small runs down a short hill on the sleds, which may as well have been miles long the way it sapped our energy. And Maple (our golden retriever), well, she gets as giddy about snow as I do!
With this gift of snow, I was reminded again of how simple pleasures can make all the difference, especially when those pleasures come from nature. We were meant to be in nature — our mentality, our spirits are lifted just by a little outdoor time. How powerful, how amazing. Just one more nod to the way our God draws us to Him.
Our new year may have been hijacked, but I’m thankful for the way life feels new now that health is returning. I’m thankful for the reminder that things change quickly, so if we can just hang on a little longer, we can make it through whatever feels hard.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
— Martin Luther King Jr
May this year hold more time outdoors for all of us, more time indulging in simple pleasures that nourish our souls, and more time sharing love and light with those in our world. (Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day!)
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
— Martin Luther King Jr
