Winter (Be not afraid...)

It snowed.

About 2 inches.

Again.

I can't remember the last time there was this much snow in Calgary.

We've been having wild winter weather since December 7th.

I can't tell you how much that absolutely delights me as someone who never did like winter in the first place.

There are wind-chill warnings again today. For those of you who are uninitiated into the pleasures of a Canadian winter, that means that when it is already -22 degrees celcius, to human skin, thanks to the wind, it actually feels like -35 degrees celcius.

I had quite a few long conversations with God about this winter. I told him firmly, in no uncertain terms, that I was unlikely to survive a cold and harsh winter. That last winter nearly did me in, and if we could skip past the bad weather this year, I'd be grateful. It was looking good. He kept telling me in little ways "be not afraid of winter." The weather was unseasonably warm. And then, on December 7th, the skies opened up, and I realized that "be not afraid of winter" might not mean what I thought it meant.

So, it's been two weeks of terrible road conditions and two hour commutes home from work. Two weeks of numb fingers, and checking toes for frostbite at the end of the day. Two weeks of brushing snow off my car every time I need to drive it, and never leaving the house without at least two layers of clothing covering every part of my body.

To be fair, this is mostly tongue in cheek. I didn't at all expect God to send a "nice" winter just because I don't like the cold. (But it sure would have been nice if he had!)

But, in the interest of honesty, I have lived here my whole life, and I don't think I'll ever get used to this kind of weather. Winter is just not my style. And, since my internal life seems to so closely mirror the seasons, I'm never a fan of a long period of cold and darkness.

So, I guess I go back to that reminder the Lord spoke. "Be not afraid of winter." I needed to hear that this year. Last winter was long, in so many, many ways. Long and dark and painful, and I wondered whether or not I'd really survive another season like that.

"Be not afraid of winter." I'm working to trust in those words.