Winter and other thoughts...

For those that know me well, you know I detest winter. The lack of sun makes me tired and cranky. The cold... I don't enjoy it. When I lived a winter in Michigan with my dad, and drove a car without a heater to class every day and had to keep the windows down and snow blowing in at me through the defrost vent so that I could see through the windshield and upon arrival at school or home, had to run my fingers under cold water until they first regained feeling and then stopped burning to prevent frostbite, well... it wasn't fun. Neither is it fun now when I have to clean out the animals' water buckets with bare hands in icy water. I'm just not a fan of that sort of thing. Unlodging chicken poop popsicles from roosts is another not-so-enjoyable task...

I know plenty of people enjoy winter. Whether they actually enjoy freezing, or they enjoy the occasion for lighting fires, wearing cozy sweaters, and drinking hot cocoa, I'm not sure. I should ask. I can understand the fires and cocoa, because I enjoy those as well. (I don't find winter to be a prerequisite, however, as I'd happily sweat before a fire or while drinking cocoa in the summer. Maybe if I had ever experienced a heat stroke, I'd feel differently...) Certainly some of the folks that enjoy winter actually enjoy the cold sensation. Perhaps some find challenging frostbite to be a particular thrill. Perhaps some folks actually choose to go out in the cold on a regular basis rather than enjoying the toasty fire indoors, and find it not to be at all an inconvenience.

If I were really sanctified, maybe I'd enjoy it, too. No bad weather, only different types of good weather? Perhaps I think too highly of myself that I don't enjoy being cold or inconvenienced. Nathan Wilson has a line in Notes From The Tilt A Whirl that is convicting. Okay, he has more than one. The one that comes to mind is something about the life being worth the death; spring being worth the winter. Others include those about being a complainer and the butt of joyful and appreciative folks' jokes...

So all this has me thinking about winter in different terms. If in fact winter does mirror death and spring life (and I believe it does) then it's okay that I don't particularly care for it, right? I mean, who enjoys death? But perhaps there is more there. Maybe it's really very dispensational of me to be longing for spring. Maybe it would be more postmillenial of me to instead get myself some water bucket heaters, and powdered teat dip and the like. Take dominion. Reverse the curse. Or perhaps, I need to revel in God's story more. Get over my bitterness toward Adam for sinning and realize that death is part of God's greater story. He ordained it. For our good, no less.

Take the chickens.

Bear with me here. There is a lot of talk in foodie and eco-friendly circles about seasonal living. Eat in season and the like. This is pretty easy stuff to get when you're thinking of what grows in a garden and when. So, we eat roots and squash in the fall and winter instead of fruit and lettuce. We can live with that... But then we have the problem of eggs.

See, chickens don't lay eggs when there isn't enough sunlight. Our modern world gets over that by the use of electricity. Put lights on the chickens, and they'll lay year round. Take dominion. Reverse the curse. All well and good, right? Well..... maybe not. This practice wears the chickens out. In 3 years, they're spent, though they could be productive much longer if we turned off the lights.

I'm seeing our chickens go through the winter naturally. Sort of. They have no artificial lights, but still get extra food. Anyhow, they look good. The break from laying eggs has been good for them. Their plumage is full and shiny. Those that looked a bit scraggly at the end of summer are thriving now. Okay, so cutting our rooster population in half has probably helped some, but I digress...

Maybe seasonal living for us means we should rest through the winter more. The lack of sunlight and my energy levels would suggest that. Perhaps it is good preparation for spring, not just so we will appreciate it, but there may actually be something restorative about it, like sleeping at night, or a Sabbath rest each week. Maybe if we lived that way, we could see how our our lives in this fallen world are preparation for the new life we will have in glory? Are they?

Maybe I'm trying to be too spiritual about it. It does help that I see cleaning my house as a reflection of my Creator--I keep cleaning messes; He keeps forgiving sin. So, I want to attach some deeper meaning to help me through the winter drudgery, to help me not be so discouraged when someone enjoys the occasion for cocoa and fires while I brave painfully cold fingers in tasks that cannot be accomplished while wearing gloves. Or perhaps it's just plain foolishness to have animals without a better plan for winter management. Whatever. I need a nap.

Didn't get a nap... David read this and thought, "Yep, it's evident which book you're currently reading..." Anyhow, I am now considering that the illnesses that go along with winter have something to add to its spiritual significance. I haven't quantified it all yet, though.