Changing Seasons

Overall, winter hasn't been too bad so far this season, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm ready for it to be over. I LOVE the snow. I LOVE the winter. But I would love if it lasted 8 solid weeks and then went away. Back to spring.... planting flowers, having barbecues, walking the boys (dogs) without freezing... I'm ready for nice weather again. And this is so like me. Dictating not only what I'd like, but how long I'd like it to last.

There are times when I feel like I'm really beginning to get a grasp on what Paul was saying when he talked about being content in all things. Overall, I'm very content. I'm usually able to see the power of God shining through the troubles we encounter. I know He's teaching me and molding me, and I know that's more important than the struggle itself. Struggles don't wig me out the way they used to.

But it's the little stuff that does me in. Why does winter have to last so long? Why does Kairo have to shed so much? Why can't we finish even the little projects around the house we've started? And just like that, I'm a whiner. I can easily rattle off all the little complaints I have and why it makes me SO FRUSTRATED that none of it is as I want it to be. So there you have it. Deep down, I still just want life to go my way.

But I think every winter, God purges a little more of that attitude out of me.

Round about this time of year, I used to almost get depressed. It was too gloomy for too long. I needed the warmth of the sun. I needed some outdoor activity. I needed something OTHER than winter. Year after year, I would get to the point where I thought I just couldn't take it any longer . . . . and then came spring. There wasn't a single winter that did me in like I thought it was going to. And the longer the winter, the more beautiful the spring . . . the more I appreciated it. It was perfect every time. And it never, ever had to go the way I wanted it to.

So year after year it's gotten easier. The winter has become a nice reminder that God is in control. He doesn't need my help. I don't have to get my way. Spring will come.

It also reminds me to stop sweating all the little stuff. I thank God that we have a house that can need fixing and a faithful, loving dog that ... hmmm... well, that isn't bald, and ... oh, yes ... that I have the tools and the physical ability to clean that dog hair up! There you go! I don't want to waste time complaining about the little stuff. God has given me way too many things to rejoice about!

So when I catch myself wishing all the little details were lined up the way I want them to be, I'm instead going to make a conscious decision to let go of the control I'm grasping for, and be content to let it remain in its rightful place. I'm going to praise God that He's in control . . . we certainly couldn't be in better hands!

I think I feel the warmth of the spring sun already.