Sometimes you have to see the beauty

  I'm always amazed at how quickly people grumble and groan over winter. We know it's going to come and that we've been lucky to have some rather unseasonable weather lately..and few cold/heavy snow winters for a bit. I know it makes travel a little slower, some bodies ache a little more, and it makes me worry about people having a home or heat but.....
     We see and appreciate God's handiwork when the first bloom of spring opens. We are amazed at how fresh the rain smells, how green everything is. The rain gives way to the hot, dry days of summer and we are excited with outdoor activities and feel blessed to feel the sun. Come fall the days start getting shorter and cooler but we see the beauty in the multi colored leaves. We find positives by using our time hunting for pumpkins and having bonfires. Then winter rolls in and the first snow we start griping. But winter serves a purpose spiritually, soulfully and nature wise. How often do we just stop and see the beauty of the falling snow, how each individual snow flake falls, how the snow glitters when light hits it. How often do we enjoy the child like pleasure of seeing your breath in the air or making a snow angel.
   Yes winter can bring sickness but it can also bring a new way to see the same ole thing..and maybe test our true ability to see small blessings. Even small blessings in the things that seem hard.
   I know Steve hates the cold (always has but since his MS it stiffens up his muscles) but I love the first true, real snow. I love to see how the snow glitters in the light. The perfect stillness. The soft flakes falling. Biblically we know that the winter should be celebrated and has a reason. ( Ecclesiastes 3.1-8)
   

As I went out to feed our cat I was blessed to see the sun coming through the trees. How the snow made the sky even brighter. How lucky I was to have a few minutes of quiet, my glass of sweet tea and my sweeties (Steve and Kaya) snuggled in bed all nice and warm. I love sunrises..they remind me to count my blessings that I am alive to see a new day start..and that I have the chance to make a new day fun and exciting.

  This evening as we wrapped up sledding I got to see this sunset. Sunsets always remind me that even though I go to bed I have another new day tomorrow. Winter sun sets seem to pop. The snow begins to shadow and the sun starts easing down. Maybe winter was created to remind us how to keep rhythm in our day? We all tend to hurry about, overwork, over think and over worry. Maybe winter is a gentle reminder to take our time, to enjoy the small things and to pull our family closer?
    Today I was lucky to know my two lovelies got to sleep in snuggled under blankets in a warm home, I got to have my glass of tea in perfect stillness, I got to see the sun break through the trees, I got to enjoy the day sledding and laughing with two of my favorite people then this evening after watching the sunset I got to enjoy a mug of hot chocolate, fix supper and then make an apple crisp we all enjoyed. Maybe to some that sounds like dull blessings but I was blessed with the love of family, the ability to feed my family, good food, a warm home, a soft bed and nature to remind me to be thankful and happy. 
   Sounds like a wonderful day to me :)