Can I be honest? Winter is my least favourite season! I love the beautiful clear blue sky, my fireplace, the gentle, warmish sun, making such a valiant effort to shine and warm, and I love soups and stews--but that’s about it!
I was thinking as I prayed over this, how many of us are living in literal, emotional, and physical winters. In the last couple of years, we have endured a global pandemic; our political world, both locally and internationally seems largely broken; we are pushed financially with differing political and economic challenges; and we find it harder to find authentic, true friendship and relationship on a screen-obsessed world. Perhaps some of us are even feeling spiritually barren and bare.
In Habakkuk 3, Habakkuk is conversing with God. Judah is in a low place, expecting an imminent attack from the Babylonians. He sees all the bad that is being done, and he is largely frustrated by the state of things. In Chapter 3, however, he says to God:
16 I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
19The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
There is no doubt that Habakkuk was overwhelmed and fearful. For all intents and purposes, he was experiencing a winter in his own life. Perhaps for you, like Habakkuk, this season is beset with frustration. He saw no fruit and no abundance and yet, he was able to praise the Lord and continue to recognize His mercy, goodness, and kindness even in the challenging circumstances.
C.S. Lewis writes in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, as spoken from Mr. Tumnus to Lucy Pevensie, “Always winter, never Christmas. It’s been a long winter. But oh, you would have loved Narnia in the Spring!” He continued to write in A Year with Aslan: Daily Reflections from The Chronicles of Narnia, “Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
If you are in a season of wintering in any way, here are three ways to be encouraged.
The Lord is with us
Even though we may not feel His presence as we have in previous seasons, He promises that he will never leave nor forsake us, (Deut 31v 8), “he is the faithful God, keeping his
covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments,” (Deut 7 v 9) and He has done all He can to be reconciled with you, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (John 3 v 16-18) As Habakkuk reminds us in these times of lack, “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” The Lord will enable us to overcome and face the hardships because of the strength that He provides.
Bareness, doesn’t mean death
In many gardens, in winter, we see a slowing down of growth and abundance. This season of hibernation helps many trees to produce more abundant, better fruit in the warm weather. Some plants use this time to prepare for the warm month. Due to this time of preparation and change in how they function during these cold months “plants like peonies and dahlias are able to push their roots up quickly. This allows them to outcompete the annual seedlings germinating around them in spring.” (read more here) Many plants also need cold weather to produce exquisite flowers when the warm months come, and some seeds need the cold in order to germinate.
Is it possible for us to look at this season, instead of focusing on the barrenness, the seeming inactivity and perceived lack of growth, as more of a season of preparation? Fallow land is arable land which is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and make it better for planting in the following year. What is Jesus intentionally leaving fallow, or what is lying just below the surface, that will, in season, sprout and flower or bring fruit in abundance to your life, your home, and your community?
Remember to celebrate
As Mr. Tumnus reminded Lucy, “Spring is coming!”, even if we have nothing to celebrate on this side of eternity, if you have trusted the Lord and walked with Him, we look forward to an eternal future with Him and that should be cause for great joy, no matter our bleak, momentary afflictions. This is not to make light of the trails and tribulations that we experience on this earth, but to remind us, that in light of His goodness, His truth, His beauty, His kindness, and our eternal home with Him, our time on earth is merely fleeting and we can look forward to a far better home.
However, I also want to draw us back to Habbakuk who says, is spite of the circumstances, Let us also be those who find our joy in the Lord and pass this on to our families. Let’s be intentional about enjoying our time around the table together, no matter how meagre the fare, let us look for reasons and ways to celebrate one another and the goodness of God even in these wintering seasons.
Remember what joy there is in Narnia when the children meet Father Christmas? He brings them gifts necessary for the work ahead, but his presence in the story brings a lightness and frivolity, that has not been known in Narnia for a long time. Let us gift our families with this joy, despite the circumstances and truly celebrate the goodness of God to us and our time together. This celebration can even extend to those outside our four walls; many need encouragement and love in this time. Let our homes be beacons of light, hope and warmth to those who need it!
May your heart be encouraged, dear friend, the Lord is not far off, He is at work, even when we can’t see it and ultimately, even if we have no other hope in this life, we will be joined with Him at the end. Aslan is on the move…
(If you enjoyed this topic and would like to delve further into it for your Mother Culture time this month, I have created a printable which contains some poems, art, recipes, music and book suggestions around this Winter theme. Please feel free to download it here. I hope you enjoy the selections!)
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight …” I love this whole quote. Thank you for the encouragement Robyn.