The blanket that covers us when we need embracing the most.

Winter has entered in with her hush of wind swirling through the treetops. The night skies have become velvet backdrops for glittering diamonds. And all around, nature begins its descent to dormancy as the new year beckons.

At first glance, all splendor has faded.

Color has abandoned the landscape, and there is little to admire.

Or is there?

A closer look with lenses of awe and wonderment prove otherwise.

Beauty abounds.

An overcast day seems to enhance each line, each shadow, during a walk in the woods.

The canopies of trees now pulled back, reveal yet a new glimpse of His Creation.

Oh, the glory of His marvelous works!

On the eve of the Eve of Christ’s birth, even nature is full of wondrous anticipation of His coming.

Empty branches reaching out to catch the snowflakes that will soon fall.

A vacant bird nest hollowed, and waiting to cradle the delicate masterpieces.

Tender green moss…a gentle carpet to receive the wispy white from the sky above.

Then it happens.

The flurries begin.

The mist of snow falls quietly to the ground as hours pass. A gentle piling of frozen crystals gradually forms a thick, and heavy blanket.

A blanket of peace, to comfort this aching earth.

In silence.

…

Many years ago, silence brought with it great fear for me.

For when I was immersed in quiet, the noise in my head became cacophonous.

The seemingly cavernous space, was overtaken by the old voices that likened to swallow me whole.

Voices of guilt.

Of shame.

Of inadequacy.

Old lies that the enemy so cunningly told.

Like treacherous wolves lurking in the long shadows of the hours before sunset. Those howling winds of anxiety caught up with me in the quiet times.

Feeling alone in the midst of the emotional storm, I had no direction. Desperately trying to ground myself, I reached horizontally ~ into this physical world, to find a sense of safety from my past.

That’s when busyness became my companion.

I found myself running from place to place. Errand to errand. Every hour of every day seemed scheduled. Accounted for. The weeks would run together, and years passed by with agonizing speed.

This time of  ‘New Year’ seemed to be repeating itself so quickly.

My life became a blur.

Looking back, I was unwittingly dragging my Sweet Louise through the torrent of activity.

Often, too busy to truly connect with her.

Listening to her stories of the day with a fraction of my attention ~ only to forget the words and memories she’d selflessly entrusted to me.

I was careless with her gift.

Enter the familiar wave of remorse.

More bad feelings. More noise. More voices affirming my fragmented identity. My failure had followed me from my childhood to my role as a mother.

The cycle persisted.

More noise begets more busyness.

More running begets more hiding.

---

Until God sends you your burning bush.

Or maybe a lightning bolt of sorts.

I’m not sure what that looks like in your life.

Sometimes it’s tragedy. Illness, perhaps. Sometimes it’s a big plan that you’re making that detonates in your midst. Maybe a financial hardship. A relational strain.

And with this entrance, suddenly the waters seem to part and you find yourself standing there.

Bewildered in a sea of emotion ~ sadness, anger, or confusion, rushing all around you.

Apparent calamity.

Then, as you reach vertically, God holds the raging waters back so that you can see ~ and incredible beauty appears.

There before you.

The silence.

Your emptiness filled with the fullness of His quiet presence.

A gracious and loving Father. He enfolds you in a blanket of Truth. Fear melts away, and Peace envelops.

…

This blanket that I had needed for so long, was always waiting there for me. But I was too busy to see it without His help.

Wrapped in His love, He calls me inside to experience the silence in a new way.

A space no longer occupied by fear, but JOY.

He calls me to new places with Him. Unafraid.

To quiet things. 

…

Now, I can recognize the fullness of this moment in time.

I look around me, not wanting to miss the enchantment of His abundance.

Breathing it all in.

I see birds outside in the snow ~ their tiny tracks decorating the frozen canvas.

Picking up an old set of knitting needles, I find solace in the rhythm of fiber moving gently between my fingers. I contemplate the origin of the fleece that brings warmth and softness to this, a chilly December day.

In the adjacent room, Emma plays her ukulele as music infuses the air.

And at my side, I breathe in the fragrance of narcissus in full bloom.

Because of His blanket of Grace, I can now be truly present.

…

No more can the pain of regret haunt me.

For He covers me with redemption.

Psalm 130:7

Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
 and with Him is full redemption.

These simple spaces don’t frighten me anymore.

When I press into His embrace, I don’t hear those old voices.

They have no power over me because He overcame the grave.

His triumph at the Cross is translated to my life in so many precious ways. But His ‘blanket’ is one that I reach for over and over again.

I no longer seek busy.

I seek Him.

The noise and the clutter fall away to the background.

They are mere memories of a more youthful time in my journey of faith ~ when my heart was yet to know the true and lasting comforts of trusting in Him.

The freedom in surrendering my fears has been immeasurable.

I can  now walk unfettered in His Glory.

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life;
    You will fill me with joy in your presence
    with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

Our annual Christmas walk in the woods was a treasure.

How grateful I am for the blanket of snow that fell this year ~ reminding me of my Jesus.

His humble birth into this world 2,000 years ago.

Our Savior.

So that our sins could be washed white, by His love at the Cross.

---

And yes.

A new year beckons.

And in it, more wondrous days of joy ahead!

As we watch and listen in the silence, He leads us nearer to Him.

Drawing us close by His side, to walk with Him in the hush of His overwhelming Grace.