It is dark.
It is wet.
The outer seeps in to the inner … the dark and twisties.
In the Pacific Northwest it is simply called winter. A season that can last from a relieving of a dusty summer sprinkling in October, until an eye-rolling, from under the covers, downpour in February (or June, depending on the year).
As of January 29, our area saw 204mm of rain (over 8 inches). As a comparative, all of January, 2017, the total was 98mm.
Do I hear the choir singing “rain, rain go away”?
After almost twenty-two years of calling this coast home, I still have not acclimatized to this season that I call the winter of our souls.
In January I start to get impatient, and (not so wisely) begin to take note of the hours of sunshine each day. As I scan weekly forecasts, for the last line, they usually look quite similar to the one below:
It is a rare day that provides the hope that this coming Sunday forecasts (unless, of course it has changed). Truly, the norm is, as the rest of the week indicates, with one or two hours being the norm (I always pray that they fall on my way to work, and home again).
As with others, who prefer their precipitation white and fluffy … and bright, it takes a very deliberate effort to not fall victim to the dark. To not allow it inside our minds and souls.
It is like with the very deliberate effort it takes to not fall victim to sin.
Going back to Hebrews 12 (The Message), we are given a focus for the the race, which is life (v. 2-3):
“Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!“
When the rains fall, when the skies are dark and there is so little light in whatever our dark, dark winter may represent, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, for he is our light and encouragement.
itsawonderfilledlife 