On The Fringe of Winter

One of the things I love about living in Southern British Columbia is the climate. Our summers are long & hot, winters are short & mild. They arrive late in the year & graciously bow out for early springs. This time of year, we are often treated to a valley view that show the nearby hills covered in an icing-sugar-frosting of snow. As the warmer weather holds out, I realize that we are waiting on the fringe of winter. Soon enough, the snow will be here down in the valley & we will be hunkering down for the short winter.

Some people seem to come alive when the snow starts to fly. These are the snowmobilers, skiers, snowboarders, tobagganers and more. There is no shortage of things to do in the winter if you are a snow enthusiast. Others tend to go into a hibernation-like mode for the colder months of the year. All outdoor activities cease and they hole up in their homes, anxiously awaiting spring once more.

But, like a squirrel, I see the snow is nearing & it means I have to get busy. Get the leaves raked & bagged, get the gardens pulled & turned, get the patio furniture tidied up & get the warm sweaters out of storage. And winter tires! I breathe a sigh of relief each morning that passes because i have not had time to buy the new winter tires yet this year.

Recently, my husband & I bought an old house & right now our backyard is full of old appliances of every kind. I feel like a true red-neck with all that sitting out there, an old junky freezer full of cardboard, the world's oldest fridge leaned over & a ripped apart harvest gold stove lying in pieces...maybe it would make a good planter next spring. NO! Before the snow is on the ground, those metal beasts will be seeing a journey to the dump and all the cardboard boxes from unpacking will be sent to recycling. Only then will I look at the sky & say "I'm ready".

Forced to spend more times indoor in the winter is a bit freeing for me also. As soon as the snow recedes in February, I want to be outside, taking it all in. But come November, my indoor life returns. My scrapbooks come back out, I take more time to read & hopefully it will mean more time on the computer to process the photos I took the rest of the year. And I'm getting ready for my most favourite season: Christmas!

So, as I wait on the fringe of winter, enjoying the last few golden days of fall, preparing for the snow & anxious for the Christmas season, I am reminded that this is not time for the winter of my soul and that with determination, I will not let it go back into hibernation but strive to keep it fresh and alive, through the cold & gray winter days, renewed like the coming of spring.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 NIV

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV