Winter

          The beautiful Christmas music is now gone for another year.  The decorations are put away.  Football will soon be over.  The nights are so long.  The cold weather is here.  So are the ice and snow storms.  We are shoveling and driving in treacherous conditions.  Spring seems so far away.  Cabin fever and depression can easily develop in our lives. Obviously the months of January and February are not my favorite times of the year.
          Recently a friend reminded me of a hymn written by John Newton that is not very well known but almost seems appropriate for this time of the year.  Newton seemed to understand how much the seasons can model the attitudes and moods that we face in our lives.  He knew that there are times that our attitudes "darken and gray" like the season.  Our spirits can become as bitter and cold as the winter days.
         But he also knew that "When I am happy in Him, December's as pleasant as May."   And January can be so as well. We can, with the Lord's help and closeness, endure those times that seem both "tedious" (long and tiresome) and "tasteless" (dull and without proper season).  
          I love some of the illustrations Newton used that many of us can relate to as we compare them to our lives. "And prisons would palaces prove, If Jesus would dwell with me there."  How does a prison cell become a palace?  That's easy, the King shows up.  
         "Why do I languish and pine?"  This question is one that I am sure all of us have asked at some point in our Christian walk, especially after the Lord has brought us through a tough situation.  Why do we worry?  Why do we fret?  Why do we lose hope when we know deep in our hearts that the Lord's promises are true?  
         In case you've never heard this hymn, here are the words.

1     How tedious and tasteless the hours

When Jesus no longer I see!

Sweet prospects, sweet birds and sweet flow'rs,

Have all lost their sweetness to me.

The midsummer sun shines but dim,

The fields strive in vain to look gay;

But when I am happy in Him

December's as pleasant as May.

2     His name yields the richest perfume,

And sweeter than music His voice;

His presence disperses my gloom,

And makes all within me rejoice.

I should, were He always thus nigh,

Have nothing to wish or to fear;

No mortal so happy as I;

My summer would last all the year.

3     Content with beholding His face,

My all to His pleasure resigned;

No changes of season or place,

Would make any change in my mind.

While blessed with a sense of His love,

A palace a toy would appear;

And prisons would palaces prove,

If Jesus would dwell with me there.

4     My Lord, if indeed I am Thine,

If Thou art my sun and my song,

Say, why do I languish and pine?

And why are my winters so long?

Oh, drive these dark clouds from the sky,

Thy soul-cheering presence restore;

Or take me to Thee up on high,

Where winter and clouds are no more.

         While it's now winter outside, is it winter in your life and heart today?  Does life with its cares seem tedious and overbearing?  If so, then remember the words that Newton has penned, "His presence disperses my gloom,  And makes all within me rejoice. I should, were He always thus nigh, have nothing to wish or to fear; No mortal so happy as I; My summer would last all the year."  
         Is it summer in your heart and life today?  If not, it can be.
         If you are interested in hearing Newton's song, here is a choice   LISTEN