Dan Crawford (1870-1926) spent most of his adult life serving as a missionary in Africa. When it was time to return home to Britain, Carwford described to an old Bantu the kind of world he was about to return to.
He told him about ships that ran under the water, on the water, and even those that flew above the water. He described English houses with all of their conveniences, such as running water and electric lights.
Then Crawford waited for the old African to register his amazement.
“Is that all, Mr. Crawford?” the aged man asked.
“Yes, I think it is,” Crawford replied.
Very slowly and very gravely, the old Bantu said, “Well, Mr. Crawford, you know, that to be better off is not to be better.”
We had a light snow fall over the weekend and today is gray and cold. I made hot cocoa and did things around the house that I don’t ordinarily do. I enjoyed relaxing instead of what I had planned before the weather stopped me. I stayed in my PJs all day Saturday. For a while, my daughter and I lounged on our couches and just watched the snow quietly fall. It was wonderful. It was beautiful.
William Blake once wrote, “In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.” Good advice. I was thinking about why I love winter so much. I enjoy whatever season I am in, but winter comes with its own unique blessings and I love them.
Here are some things I like about the season.
1. I treasure days like these to carry me through the blazing days of summer. We don’t get too many of them. So, it is that in August I will almost always at some point close my eyes and visualize that cold weekend or two in winter. It may not cool my body, but it will quench my Spirit for a moment. That is especially important when you are a woman in mid-life. Did you see me in Siberia? Then, you get what I mean!!!
2. It is a good time to reflect. I am not as active in the winter as I am in the summer. I can’t get outside as regularly for my walks on cold days. I end up reading more and contemplating the cosmos! It puts me in a more reflective mood.
3. It reminds me that there is no ending to life. The leaves fall. Plant life goes to sleep. We might even get that letter from the homeowner’s association telling us to pull our weeds. (Yes, that happened one winter. I told them to come back in the spring and look at the blooms on “those weeds.”) Winter is about preparing the soul for spring, the new awakening.
4. Winter is the season where I do long term planning. The other seasons have external distractions. In spring or summer, I am thinking of vacations and outings and projects at home. In winter, I am more creative. I am setting goals and laying the foundation for the future, but not at the expense of enjoying solitude.
5. Winter is the season in which I enjoy cooking. Well, at least I tolerate it better in the winter. I don’t ever really look forward to cooking except for Christmas.
Solomon wrote, “There is a time and a season for everything under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up; a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”
I wonder if he wrote that in the winter. Each phrase gives me a mental picture and that picture is set in one season or another. Am I the only person who does that? I do the same thing with color. Yellow is spring. Green is summer. Purple is winter.
What do you like and dislike about this season?
I am traveling around the State on Sundays doing some recruiting with my job. Honestly, I don’t look forward to those trips. #1 Because it means I will be away from my regular place of worship. #2 It means that I have to leave home very early on Sunday morning to make the trip. However, once I get to my destination I usually enjoy the experience and am glad I had to make the effort. More often than not, I connect with someone who knows a friend or acquaintance of mine, knows my family or I see someone I haven’t seen in years.
A couple of weeks ago on one of those trips, I saw a teacher from my own middle school days. I do not recall seeing him since I left his classroom decades ago. He has white hair now and sports a beard. I am older and am not certain what color my hair is so we are about even there! We went to lunch together after church. We talked a little bit about the past, but mostly about where our lives have taken us. The perspective of 30+ years of life experience made the reunion even more precious as we shared our lives of past and present. When we parted I felt like I had been home. The years had melted away and I remembered some wonderful things about this man who was an influence in my life as well as the time period. More than that, for a while I escaped 2008 and returned this time as an adult to 1972 or 73 and all that embodied that period in my personal life. There is something about plucking an old but meaningful relationship from the past and bringing it current that warms the spirit like nothing else can.
Let me just add for the benefit of you teachers out there. I was a very quiet student. Shy, unsure of myself, whatever you want to call it. This guy taught me English. I wasn’t an A student, but I wasn’t a bad student either. I was just kind of middle of the road. We were in a small private school. Everyone knew everyone else if not by name then we recognized each other’s face. My father had retired on a disability pension the year before. Sending me to this school was a huge sacrifice. I was uncertain as to whether I was up for the challenge. This teacher was good at really paying attention to his students. Eye contact here, a smile there, quiet reassurance from time to time made his classroom a nice place to be. He didn’t take anything off the more “assertive” kids. You know who those are. They are the ones who comment on everything. Sometimes it is silly. Sometimes the comments are intelligent. They are the ones who propose in the hallways to get Mr. So in so off track so we could skip the lesson. He gave them his attention, but he didn’t leave other students out by doing so. Not all teachers get that gift.
I suspect that this is a taste of what heaven will be like. We’ll come across the good people who have crossed our paths and influenced our journey. We can sit for awhile and enjoy each other’s company anew. We will have the benefit of a whole life experience and refined clarity of God’s master plan. It won’t matter whether we performed well, did all the assignments, followed through on everything like an Ivy League scholar. That is what grace is for. What will matter is merely that our paths did cross and we noticed the impact we made in each other’s lives. That impact may have just gotten us there in some small but important way.
I remember that phrase from school days. There were those times when the teacher just needed a break, so she/he would give an assignment that was intended to keep the students busy as opposed to actual learning taking place. As students we understood the purpose and felt like our time was wasted. As an adult, I understand the need behind it. I admire teachers for choosing their profession and don’t intend to criticize here, but I was thinking about that concept and how it has crept into our everyday life.
Examples:
Do you ever ask someone for their opinion but more often than not disregard it when it is provided? I know someone who is constantly asking me my opinion. I try hard not to give opinions unless I am asked. So, when I am asked, I take the request seriously and attempt a thoughtful answer. Most of the time, this acquaintance does something else. Must have been busy work.
Do you ever purposefully include someone in an activity and then barely speak to them? A friend was complaining that she was invited to go on an outing with another good friend. In fact, the friend said, “I don’t want to go if you don’t come along.” When the time for the outing came along, the friend was so busy with others that she barely acknowledged my friend’s presence. It hurt her feelings. I can understand why. Must have been busy work.
Then, there are bosses who ask employees to research a task or submit a proposal in writing. When the project is complete, they don’t read the proposal or the research. Instead, they ask 100 questions to get the information they want. Busy work extraordinaire.
My mother used to make me wash dishes by hand that hadn’t been used in a while. I still don’t quite understand the purpose. It’s not like we were going to use them right away. She also had me get on my hands and knees and polish baseboards (that wall trim at floor level) every Saturday morning. THAT was definitely busy work. No wonder I have arthritis in my joints. Do people do those things?
You may be able to add to the list. Anything is busy work that is unnecessary. It doesn’t make a difference whether you are on the giving or receiving end. In our culture of being rushed, having an abundance of activities and obligations and being inundated with junk mail, politics and telemarketers, reducing the busy work is fast becoming the stuff rocket science is made of!
I wonder if these “busy work” episodes contribute to low productivity and the physical and emotional wear and tear of our daily lives in the grand scheme of things. This is the time for New Year resolutions. I don’t really do those, because they don’t last so long. But, I am going to make an effort to be more sensitive to busy work.
