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Winter

I am thrilled to have one of my favorite people do a guest post today!  My mom is one of my dearest friends and heroes!  This is a reflection from her this week...


"This morning I woke up to a magnificent Winter Wonderland! The snow blanketed everything with pristine white.  I walked outside with my morning coffee to breathe the cold, crisp air.  I was very thankful that I did not have to go anywhere.

Just two days ago our family celebrated the life of my father-in-law, Bill Arnold, after his home-going a few days before.  He was a good man who loved his family, contributed greatly to our nation’s defense as an aerospace engineer working in the fields of radar and magnetics, and he grew from a rational relationship with God to a deeply personal one. 

I am reminded that our life has seasons, just as nature does.  The Winter season where all the leaves have fallen, the air is frigid, and no flowers are blooming, can also have its own beauty – the pristine clean smells, the crisp white snow rarely seen in these parts, the wonder of small ducks perfectly at home in the freezing waters of the lake outside our house.  The blue birds and red cardinals stand out against the stark background of trees with no color.

I truly believe God wants to open our eyes to the beauty that exists even in our darkest seasons, when we bring our hearts to Him, cry out to Him, and ultimately choose to trust Him – regardless. After our little granddaughter Makiah died in a seemingly senseless car accident caused by a driver on drugs, I fell into a dark place and tasted a despair I did not even know existed.  Where was the loving Father I had known and trusted most of my life? Where were the angels that fateful day? Why, oh why, did He allow such a tragic loss of our beautiful little Makiah, and such intense pain in the hearts of our family, particularly Rachel and Cameron, our daughter and son-in-law? I grappled with it for months.  Finally I surrendered my right to understand and began to choose thankfulness – at first just for the small things like a red bird outside my window, or a flowering plant.  Gradually a grateful heart began to grow in me and I could see the mercies all around and the love of God through other people that poured out comfort and support.  Finally, I knew that I could, would, MUST trust in the unfailing love of God – even if, no, especially if I could not understand!  There is pain all around in our world – pain I can relate to in a way I did not, could not before.

And I know that an everlasting beauty and peace awaits those whose hearts belong to Jesus. My father-in-law knows that first hand now; he and Makiah are in that great cloud of witnesses! Seasons – all of them – have their own beauty."  - Jeanie Arnold

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 KJV
“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 TLB
“In the same way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror, but someday we are going to see him in his completeness, face to face. Now all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as God sees into my heart right now.”








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