Embrace It All!

Peebles Island State Park
the Perimeter Trail along the Mohawk River

I was raised in central New York State.  Just east of the "snow belt" in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, in the Mohawk Valley.  I didn't mind snow as a child.  I tolerated it as a teen.  Then I moved to a small town just outside of Rochester, NY in the western part of NYS to attend college. Where every winter was winter until April with lots of snow. And wind. And blizzards. And wind. and snow.   5 years later I moved to the Capital Region of NYS to do my graduate work and land a teaching job and have lived here ever since.  Eastern New York/the Capital Region has milder winters typically, than where I grew up or went to undergrad school.  In fact, most of the Christmases that Dave and I and the girls have experienced as a family since 1990 have been "green"....meaning they definitely didn't match the song "White Christmas". Yes, eastern NY, about 2 hours east of where I grew up, is definitely a better choice for me.  Until this past December. Oh my. We have had 3 major snow storms, and two of them were within a week of each other. In February!  Just in the last 2 weeks! I am so done!!  Or so I thought.

However, even though this area doesn't usually get a lot of snow, I still haven't totally embraced the winter season.  I don't ski or skate.  I love to hike. But not up mountains in snow and ice and sub-zero temps.  So, I am pretty housebound, other than errands, church, and work, during the winter months.  Occasionally in the last couple of years, I will go on a winter walk or winter hike (mainly flat ground).

and yet.....I have never fully embraced winter.  I don't like the shorter days and darker dawns.  I despise all the layers of clothing and socks.  I miss sitting out on my deck or playing badminton with the family. I miss power walking and biking.  I totally miss hiking up mountain summits and I really miss grilling food!!  And I really, really miss going barefoot and sleeping with windows open!!

Yet....for some reason, this winter hasn't been too bad for me.

You see, I decided, that since we live and work in the Northeast....and we really do love all 4 seasons..(.I can't imagine not smelling the fresh evergreens that the northeast mountains bring to us in the summer or see the blazing colors the autumn brings us....or sit around a bonfire on a chilly autumn evening......I would totally miss the changing of the seasons if I lived somewhere south or out in some place like San Francisco or San Diego....and how do you do Christmas without cold??)...anyways...I decided that embracing winter is a choice.

I have a choice.  I can embrace what God has created!  I don't have to have the attitude of "oh my gosh when will spring ever get here?"  Because in doing so, I might be missing out on some great gifts!!

Here's what I posted on Facebook the other morning:

By embracing the gifts God created for us in Nature....the things we see and feel and smell outdoors.....we are experiencing a little bit of His Love for us.  He gives such good things.  

Look at what I saw on my late winter hike this past Saturday with my neighbor:

the river breaking through the ice...........

...............a waterfalls rushing under the ice.......

.............blue sky...........the sun.............

shadows dark on bright, white snow............

.....many footprints of hikers and people on snowshoes.

God's gift....the gift of His Handiwork.

we saw..........we smelled.....we felt the warm sun and the crisp wind.

And it was good.

Embracing all of the gifts this week.........and in the last 4 weeks of winter......

and thanking Him.........He has done marvelous things!