Reaching Up

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into 

song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."

~Isaiah 55:12~

I have not always been a fan of the winter season. Having grown up in south Florida, I was always used to hot, hotter, warm, and semi-cool.  The concept of changing seasons still feels fairly new to me.  I have to admit that when we drive over the pass from Eastern Washington back home on Labor Day weekend, I cringe a little, dig in my toes, wishing to grasp for that last bit of warmth and willing it to linger for just a bit longer.  Even as I sighed and got out the winter coat, trading the tank tops and shorts for sweaters and cords, I noticed something different this year.  Maybe it is because my 3rd baby and first son was born the day before Fall officially began.  Maybe it was this photo reminder that next week as we settled in to life as a family of 5.

That even though the winter chill would soon be setting in...the trees were not dying, even as the last fall leaves fell to the ground.  They were simply going into a season of rest, of peace, so that in the spring time, something new would indeed be born.  

We have had some particularly crisp, beautiful sunsets in the northwest this winter.  I started writing in a thankful journal last month, jotting down small blessings from the day that I can think about.  It is amazing how it has drawn me into so much more joy and thankfulness. Even as I was driving home one evening at dusk, thanking God for the beauty of the sunset, the bright pink colors mixed with orange against a blue sky, and those pale white wispy clouds.  It was then that I rounded a corner, and I saw it. It almost took my breath away.  Could it have been there all along, these 8 winters I have lived here, and I am only just now noticing?  Bare winter branches against a sunlit sky looked like they were REACHING UP toward heaven.  I wanted to stop time, to stare at that image forever, that even the creation lifts high to praise God.  That simple truth has held me.  The simplicity is astounding to me.  I am held together by a God who pays attention to details.  Even in the bleak of winter, we have blessings to be thankful for. That even when we fail and fall, when our shortcomings seem to be so glaringly obvious, those trees are still reaching up, reminding us that we have a Father who will not let us go. <3