Snow Days

We are in day 3 of a HUGE winter storm.  Seems our city pretty much shut down for a few days, since we are not accustomed to this much snow.  Although many people are definitely getting cabin fever, I can't honestly say that I am.  True, my husband took me to the post office today, but other than that, I've been home since Monday.  

Sometimes, it is just nice to have the fast pace of life interrupted for a few days of being snowed in.  Although I am DEFINITELY NOT a winter person, I have enjoyed the week. 

Our family spends quite a bit of time at home.  You see, we work out of our home (own our own small I.T. business) and we homeschool our youngest son.  You might think we'd be going stir crazy wanting to get out of the house, and sometimes we are.   But this week has been different.

As homeschoolers, we don't really take snow days, but we did take it easy and have some fun reading time, lots of hot chocolate and cider, and plenty of baked goods.  My 16 year old enjoyed staying in his comfy pj's for school today.

Since our business office is in our home, we didn't even really stop work, but not being able to "run around" enabled us to get caught up on a few things.  This week has caused me to think about how, even in the middle of winter, we can have a warm "oasis". 

I think God is teaching me that the same is true when I go through a spiritual "winter".  Sometimes slowing down, focusing on what really matters, and making the best of a situation can be a true oasis in the middle of our trials.  Sure we can have a pity party, have lots of negative drama about how much of a disturbance this is to our life, and generally make ourselves and those around us miserable.  Or, we can slow down, look for something to be thankful for, and focus on what really matters.

Admittedly, there are some storms that are much more severe than others.....even life threatening.  I don't mean to make them seem like they are just a little bump in the road.  Sometimes our winter can seem never ending and life changing.  But we can rest assured that God will never let anything happen to us or our loved ones without it first going through His hands, and He will NEVER leave us on our own, but will walk with us, holding our hand, through the midst of our winter.  Our winter may still feel bitterly cold, but we have a Warm Hand to hold onto.  Winter will not last forever.  Spring is just around the corner.