Let it snow!!!

There is now snow on the ground in Houghton. Covering the grass, making the roads slippery, making the leaf-less trees once again into something beautiful, and driving me inside where it is warm! Ahhh, to curl up on the couch under a blanket with a mug of tea and a good book... :) In spite of my sub-tropical upbringing, I have actually grown to love winter over the past 4 years here at Houghton! It is a little different now that I'm paying my own heating bill...but anyways, I still think it's beautiful, and it reminds me of how in God's vast and wonderful creation, everything is given a time to rest. Right now, the trees are resting, and furry animals are getting ready to tuck away and sleep, and it is extremely good, because that was the way it was meant to be! This is not an empty, bored, thumb-twiddling rest, but a deeply beneficial rest in which healing is taking place and preparations are being made for life to burst forth once again in the fullness of spring. It kind of reminds me of Advent, a season that is all about expectation - Come, Lord Jesus! A season in which we rejoice because we know that He has already come. And in which we are also still waiting - not an empty waiting, but one in which work is being done even now to build into fruition the full redemption that will burst forth when He will come again, for good! It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Or maybe that's just the cold. :)

And yet, while I love winter for all these reasons, there is still part of me that becomes green with envy when I see pictures of the warm, sunny places where my friends are right now...

This is where Dan was last week, in Cuba.
This is where Amy and Katrina have been travelling, in India and Thailand.
This is where Chuck and Cherith will be moving in a few short months.

Enjoy the sunshine, all you people in warm places! :) I'll make a snowman in your honor and toast you with hot chocolate.