COATED

I looked out of my kitchen window into my back yard and noticed that everything was coated. Coated in another layer of snow.

Chairs that gleefully welcome visitors in summers past lay still beneath their burden. Grasses bow down under the weight.

Berries that have somehow managed to cling to their branches and are wearing heavy winter caps.

Our city is in a deep freeze and remaining stable at around -20. We are chilled. We are tired. We are coated with a heaviness that is only partially due to the cold and snow.

We too are worn down and burdened with our fears , anxieties, and sadnesses.

And yet. Some of the golden grasses in my yard are still standing tall. And the sun shines through them.

They are surrounded by hills of snow and they too are coated with the heavy crystals. They are not very strong but they reach up to the sky and feel the warmth on their soft exteriors.

Perhaps I too in my weakness can find strength to get through these days by reaching for the sun. The Son.

Yes. I will lift up my soft gaze to the Son and trust that this winter will not last forever. I will allow myself to be vulnerable and shed a few tears if I need to but I will not wallow. I will find the bright spots in my days and hold onto memories of better times that will lead me to hope. Hope that one day I will shed this coat of tears. This coat of fears.

And while my world remains under this frigid coat I will look for the beauty.

It only takes a second. And I see it. It is all around me. It is also within me.

And I am warm once again.

Peace.