in which i love winter

Written by Sandra Heska King

PRAY EDITOR "Once a nurse, always a nurse," they say. But now I spend my days with laptop and camera in tow as I look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. I'm a Michigan gal, mom to two, grandmom to two, and wife to one. My husband and I live on 50 acres in the same 150-plus-year-old farmhouse he grew up in. I love this quote by Mary Oliver, "Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." That's how I want to live. And I'm still learning how to be. Still.

February 5, 2013

snow kissed 2

I’m a summertime gal. Bring on the sun, the heat, the sweat. Let me rock on the porch with a glass of iced tea, sporting a pair of shorts and my Tigers T-shirt, inhaling the scent of petunias.

Or give me springtime, air heavy with the fragrance of lilacs, pregnant with new life, the first robin.

Or even autumn, ablaze with color, hand-plucked apples, the aroma of wood smoke.

But winter? It’s so long. And so cold. And messy.

But today… today is one of those days in which I love winter.

It’s the snow that spills like cotton confetti, swirls gentle, piles downy soft, fluffs underfoot.

It beckons me outside, and I stand in the center of a sacred silence.

snow kissed

And I can barely breathe for the beauty of it.

I remember that God orders the snow to blanket the earth (Job 37:6), spreads it like fleece (Psalm 147:16). He spreads this comforter before me, and it comforts me.

I think of a friend who suffers and pray for His comfort to surround her.

I tilt my face and let flakes settle on my tongue. Taste and see.

Winter must come before spring.

snow kiss 5

snow kissed 3

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Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow . . .  Open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. (Psalm 51)

Even in winter.

 

40 Comments

  1. Shelly Miller

    These photos are breathtaking Sandra, truly wonder on the page. A great way to wake up this morning. I often think that a wintering of the soul is where the deep work takes place for growth we see in the spring of life.

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      It *was* a world of wonder yesterday, Shelly. I’m glad I took time to drink it in. And yes, we all need a little wintering, from time to time. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Michelle Rinaldi Ortega

    Beautiful perspective, and I LOVE the first photo…I love the rest that winter brings…

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      Thank you, my friend. It was indeed a magical day. I’m going to try to hang on to that perspective today. It’s 2 degrees, and the birds will be hungry–meaning several trips to the feeders… the sunrise was just a tease… looks like more snow on the way.

      Reply
  3. Carrie

    Thank you, Sandy. I am in the south right now, but actually miss being at home in the cold and snow. After reading your post I understand why I am conflcted. Beauty is everywhere as well as His peace and joy.

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      Hi, Carrie. We lived in the south (Georgia and Florida) for a few years, and I loved it there. But there’s something about all four seasons. And, of course, in Michigan we sometimes get to experience them all within 24 hours. 🙂

      Reply
  4. marthaorlando

    Gorgeous photos and lovely reflection, Sandy. Wish you could send some of that snow down to Georgia! 🙂 Blessings!

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      I’ll trade you a bucket of snow for a bucket of peaches. 🙂

      Reply
      • marthaorlando

        Lol!

        Reply
  5. Elizabeth Stewart

    Lovely, lovely photos!

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      Thank you, Elizabeth. It was all more lovely in real life. 🙂

      Reply
  6. SimplyDarlene

    And those Queen Anne’s Lace images depict how we curl tight & cling inward during winter… very fitting pictures.

    Beauty.
    Blessings.

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      Inward and into Him–at least that’s would be the best clinging, yes?

      Reply
  7. Nancy Franson

    Since I landed in Pittsburgh over a week ago, it has been snowing almost non-stop. I feel as though I am walking, driving, and living within a snow globe. Fortunately, these folks know how to salt the living daylights out of roads and sidewalks.

    I am a big-time summer gal, too. Big. Time. And yet there is something this winter is teaching me this year, something to do with longing for new life.

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      In the waiting, Grandma… it’s almost time, but it’s almost time!

      Reply
  8. Kathy

    Love the photos and the comment about the appearance of snow as a comforter that brings His comfort to us. I always remember that Jesus promised the “comforter” who would come to bring us His presence forever.

    Reply
  9. DeanneMoore

    Been a busy day and more to do but took a minute to click over here to the Dude’s place and I. took. a. deep. breath. Thank you, Sandy.

    Reply
  10. Amy L. Sullivan

    I would make these pics into a book if I could.

    Reply
  11. soulstops

    your words and photos make me love winter although I don’t see snow here unless I drive to it…Thanks, Sandra 🙂

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      Enjoy! I could pull out some photos that might make you think a little differently, though. 😉

      Reply
      • soulstops

        Ha! I already know I would have a hard time with the cold…brr…it is good God put me where I can only reach snow if I drive 😉

        Reply
  12. Diane Bailey

    Sandra, that is beautiful. Winter must come before Spring…isn’t that the truth.

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      Yep. And we can’t let those winters scare us because no matter how long they last, spring always comes.

      Reply
  13. Megan Willome

    “He spreads this comforter before me, and it comforts me.”–that’s why I have to go to Colorado or somewhere in the winter, to get me some of that white comfort.

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      We used to get a lot more snow back in the day, it seems. I remember my dad shoveling snow off roofs, climbing up a snowbank to a roof (with my sled), and my dad snowshowing tobogganed food to neighbors.

      Reply
  14. Patricia W Hunter

    So very beautiful, Sandy. You understand “whiter than snow” far more than I ever could. When it brings you comfort to remember that winter must come before spring, I find the same comfort in remembering that SUMMER must come before spring (the only other season we have down here. =))

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      I remember feeling a lot colder sometimes there in winter than here…

      Reply
  15. Michelle DeRusha

    I am loving and appreciating the slower, quieter aspects of winter more and more, the older I get. Beautiful shots (and words), Sandy!

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      I’m learning to love and appreciate it more, too, Michelle. And I’ve been thinking lately about the joy of playing in it as a child when we used to have tons more.

      And thank you. 🙂

      Reply
  16. Patricia Spreng

    And today, we even had sunshine to go with it!! What a blessing, those soft winter wonder days and this beautiful capturing of yours. Hugs = )

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      The sun was gorgeous today. And more snow coming, I hear.

      Thank you. Hugs back. 🙂

      Reply
  17. Kris Camealy

    Oh my, Sandy, I always LOVE your bird photos, and this post is rich with a quiet beauty both in your words and images. That first image there, with the dried flowers in the snow, that one whispers cool grace to me, I am not a winter person myself, but this from you, helps me to appreciate it a little more today. 😉

    Reply
    • Sandra Heska King

      Interesting… the older I get, the more I appreciate winter. Not so much in the child-like snowball-sled exuberant way, but in a quiet, gentle, giving-in way.

      Reply
  18. Laura Boggess

    Sandy, these photos are just speaking something beautiful into my heart today. Just wow. I’m going back up to look again.

    Reply
  19. smoothstones

    Crazy about those top couple of photos!

    Reply

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in which i love winter

by Sandra Heska King time to read: 1 min
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