A Walk in the Woods after a Fresh Snow

There is a deep sense of untainted wilderness
                                                    when walking in the woods after a fresh snow.
Barren boughs stretch to the heavens,
                                         which answers with an affable yet penetrating breeze.

Limbs oppressed by mounting snow burden 

                        evergreens to gracefully bow.

The snow drifts are like a Winter amphitheater for the distant chatter of birds Autumn

                                                  has left behind.

 

Hedge branches pervade a pristine 

                                                trail, 

outstretched as if to greet me.

A secluded hollow summons my 
soul to rest within her soft, 
                              snowy embrace.

A resting pause, a calm invitation, a moment’s portion 

                                                              is my only payment –

for I must endure through this snow-banked trail 

                                               to gently touch its supernal end.

Where the eastward breeze shall lose her bite, 

                                              snow surrenders into tiny droplets.

Then Winter's ethereal beauty shades Spring no longer, 

                                                        hope will birth Dawn eternal.

To Every Season

 Saturday welcomed the sun with an invitation to Spring following a day of destructive and deadly tornadoes that wrecked the area. The delighted hospitality of the rather tepid air summoned a walk. The daffodils were in bloom and the grass began the Spring shade of green. The springtime inauguration seemed to be in order.

 The parade of colors and the sound of streams trickling through the woods put joy to my feet in every step. However, the light breeze in the woods drummed a gentle percussion of barren trees that warned Winter had yet to release its grip. Come Monday morning, ice and snow would impede the springtime progression.

 This morning, trees and fields are covered in a blanket of snow, hiding the greenery underneath. This transition of seasons is not accidental.

 God set the earth's movement in relation to the sun to determine the seasons and called it good (Genesis 1:14). The seasons are a blessing God restored after the flood (Genesis 8:22). God is in control of the seasons and the obedience of nature is His praise. The joyous beauty and occasion of every season is His continued providence to His creation. Spring, Lord willing, will eventually overshadow Winter.

Let us praise God for continuing the seasons. The courses of the seasons "join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love."