A winter epiphany

I have been dreading winter since last winter.

I love spring - the rebirth of the earth.  The new growth and renewal.

I love summer - the abundance of the earth.  The green and the beauty.

I love autumn - the glory of the earth.  The harvest and the color.

I have not appreciated winter.  Until now.

I live in Connecticut.  For those who have never been here, the entire state is heavily wooded.  I also drive (deliveries) for one of my jobs.  I drive all over the state and all over New York state.  That gives me an abundance of thinking time.  I love it.

 As I was driving this week, I was pondering all of the trees.  Remembering how, mere weeks ago, the foliage was like a constant sunset.  They were bright and glorious as a bouquet of flowers.  Now they are naked.  Stripped of that which makes them beautiful.

Then I really looked.  They are still beautiful!

The trees, these aged beautiful and strong beings, were standing naked before the sky, before God, before the universe.  They had dropped all of their excess and "baggage" and were seemingly vulnerable before all.

They were beautiful.

I thought, "Isn't it great that they have dropped their leaves before we get a good snowstorm?! Without their leaves, they will be strong enough to hold the weight of the snow.  Sometimes a branch will break off under the weight, but the tree will usually heal.  If the tree falls, it is still beautiful and useful.  It can be a mother tree, shelter, warmth."

Then I made the connection - a personal epiphany, if you will.

It is only when we drop all of our excess and all of our baggage and stand naked and vulnerable before God/ourselves/the universe, that we can receive the strength to withstand the obstacles that fall on us.  Sometimes a part of us will break, but we will heal and be even stronger.  Yes, we may have scars, we might even fall, but we are still beautiful, strong, and useful.

That was my epiphany.

I love winter - the endurance of the earth.  The strength and the wisdom.