Across the Pastor’s Desk by Joshua Enderson

 

We are now halfway through the month of January and in the midst of a long January thaw (or you could more likely call it a December-January thaw). Many people are enjoying this unseasonably warm weather for January. You could say that we have earned a warmer-than-usual winter after the bitter cold we have experienced in recent years.

I always struggle with January thaws. I do not mind snow. Its brilliance seems to shine when the trees are bare and the grass is lackluster. It gives winter a magic edge, which makes up for the fact that your face feels like it might fall off in the subzero temps. And, most important, it covers up the fact that I was not able to mulch my leaves one last time before the snow!

January thaws, however, do something else for me. They can be powerful reminders of life’s brevity. In the summer, when days are long and warm, the garden is in full bloom, death seems to languish. It is easy to push it aside. In the midst of winter’s delights, when the snow is pristine and perfect and the sun’s brilliance blinding, we can drown out the reality of life.

But then January comes along and things warm up. This year, in fact, things warmed up so much that there is not any snow left at all. January comes along and removes the veil with which we have been covering our eyes. We see decaying leaves, browned grass and bare trees. We see the reality of life.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it,” Isaiah says. Life is fleeting, Isaiah reminds us, and everything has its time. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever…God will gather the lambs in God’s arms, and carry them in God’s bosom.” (Isaiah 40:7, 8, 11) Isaiah’s words remind us that, even in the midst of this painful reality, God’s love and word stand tall. We have hope that, no matter what, God holds us in God’s arms.

I am sure we will get more snow before winter ends. We will have something to cover up that reality once again. In the meantime, take some time to think about what matters most in your life. As Mary Oliver writes in her poem “When Death Comes, ““When it’s over, I want to say: all my life / I was a bride married to amazement. / I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms. / When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder / if I have made of my life something particular, and real. / I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened, / or full of argument. / I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.” What brings you amazement? What bring you joy? Where does God show up in your life? May this January thaw be a blessing for you and a time of reflection.

Joshua Enderson is pastor of Hayward and Trondhjem Lutheran churches.