Tag: winter

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Where The Leaves Never Fall

I thought that today, with the colors of fall in full radiance, and winter just around the corner, I would share a poem I wrote for my children some time back. Enjoy.

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Where the Leaves Never Fall

  The autumn leaves are tumbling off the trees,
The cooling rains dance across the dying lawns.
North winds whisper that frigid days are coming.
Soon the trees will sway barren in the tomb of winter
Beautiful colors will burn brightly only to crumble away
Returning to die in the ground from which they were birthed

For many fall seasons, I hardly noticed the sadness beneath the beauty
No, the cooling days meant fall afternoons of touchdowns and tackles
Crisp apples and chili dogs and joyful conversations behind tailgates
Yes, children and now grandchildren playing football and soccer
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years one after another
Church and carols and celebrations hurry onward year after year.

Some seats are now empty of those we’ve loved and lost awhile
Their absence leaves a dull ache and void in our lives.
The autumn of aging took some while others left in the bloom of spring
This latest autumn has awakened me to know that life here has its limits
For me, fall has come with its cold breath to say winter is coming
I ask my soul, “Will winter give way again to Spring and the hope of Easter?”

Yes, my heart believes there will come another spring and summer
To revel with my grandchildren and to see them blossom into adults
To discover and preach with power one more great sermon
To love my wife and share the joys and tears as we have for half a century
To see my children live out their dreams…and God’s sweet will
To see the church rise to her fullest potential for God’s glory

The years have taken their toll on my body, yet I feel His strength
When I stand to give Jesus’ message, my youth manifests
All aches and pains leave and I know His presence
The sweet Holy Ghost kisses me with power from the eternal dimension
For a moment, I sense that ageless, deathless world awaiting us all and I know
Fall and winter will yield to the Savior awaiting us where the leaves never fall.

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Categories
Living It Out In Real Time The Bible The Life of Faith The Mysteries of God

Thoughts For A Cold and Wintry Night

Snow 7J

For the second time in about three weeks, we have been hit with snow in the Chattanooga area. Last time, it caught most of us by surprise (much of the South, actually). This time, however, we were a little more prepared (or as prepared as we get, I suppose). While we were expecting some snow, I don’t think most of us expected as much as we got.

Snow 5JI will say this, however… while many folks around this area may not fully appreciate a good snowfall (and the inconvenience it brings), there is something about it that is most intriguing. To look out across a landscape that had been diverse – filled with beauty, flaws, focal-points both positive and negative, and works of art (some man-made, some “Creator-inspired”) – then to see it all covered with the same blanket of snow, the same texture and tone, it is as if a good snowfall becomes the great equalizer. The edges and inconsistencies of the topography disappear into one solid, flowing, undisturbed landscape of snowy perfection, punctuated by trees, ponds, and structures. Even the night seems less intimidating, less mysterious, and less ominous.

imageSnow and winter have long been popular subjects for writers, poets, bards, and balladeers. The great Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once wrote…

Chill airs and wintry winds! my ear
Has grown familiar with your song;
I hear it in the opening year,
I listen, and it cheers me long. ~ from “Woods in Winter”

Snow 2JRobert Frost painted a picture of a snowy paradise…

A winter garden in an alder swamp,
Where conies now come out to sun and romp,
As near a paradise as it can be
And not melt snow or start a dormant tree. ~ from “A Winter Eden”

The beauty and purity of snow was not lost on those who penned the Bible either…

“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow…” ~ Isaiah 1:18

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” ~ Psalm 51:7

imageFreshly-fallen snow paints a beautiful picture of grace. Regardless of what went on before, upon snow’s arrival,  the blemishes are forgotten, the inequities are forgiven, and below the surface, new life is waiting to be born.

However, another picture comes to mind with the invocation of snow. Think of the majesty of a snow covered mountain range. Think of the creative power displayed in the beauty of a snow-covered vista. Now, with that in mind…

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“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.” ~ Daniel 7:9

“The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.” ~ Revelation 1:14-15

Think about it the next time you encounter a good winter’s snowfall. You may not look at snow the same way.

(Special thanks to my friends who braved the cold, and shared their pictures with me.)