Thursday, January 28, 2016

It's Winter Here

Winter in New Jersey: 2013
There is a chill in the air. I light a candle and pour a cup of tea. It's quiet here {this very minute. I'm sure the baby will cry any minute}.

I've always felt that the season of life with infants is similar to winter. I gave birth to my first born on November 30, the cusp of winter in New Jersey. And enjoyed my maternity leave cozied up with my first baby. My second was born in June, and was an entirely different experience {a story for another day. let me just say that I am grateful we were not cooped up for months on end with him}. And then my third was born in December in the states during our Homeland Ministry Assignment. In July I had Rebekah here in Uganda- the land of eternal summer- and it still feels like winter around here. Don't get me wrong, I love babies. And I will be the first to admit I hate winter {Thank You, Lord, for sending me to tropical Uganda}. So the metaphor isn't perfect, but bear with me.

Winter is a particularly intense season. Harsh temperatures, violent storms, immensely happy holidays... not all bad things, just intense. Seasonal depression is a real thing- so is postpartum depression. Some days are just long, and hard, and threaten to suck the life out of you. Oh, and the getting ready to leave the house. Don't even get me started. All you want to do is stay inside and snuggle.

Shaker Village: 2013
You must be prepared for winter. You stock up on survival items. You cook warm, nourishing foods. You celebrate with family. You lean in to your home life. You always have a warm mug of something in your hands. It is a simple season, where you focus on the things that really matter.

And even in nature things lie dormant, keeping the most minimal energies flowing. Trees do not produce fruit in the winter. And so I give myself grace. I lean in to the beauties of this season and I do not demand much fruit from my days. I feast on the stores I laid up in the years before this baby. And I trust that spring will come again, as it always does.

Are you in a place where it's winter? Read this.
I'm linking up at The Grove on the word: metaphor

How else is life with a baby like winter? Leave it in the comments!



1 comment:

  1. We're in Colorado, so it's definitely winter here and I can really identify with this. I'm also trying to accept the beauty and grace that comes with this season of lessening--both in winter and in motherhood;-)Thank you for this. (And I spent 6 months in Uganda in 2001 and have some very dear Ugandan friends there that work for FOCUS. Such a beautiful country!).

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