One Word
This winter on The Daily Pattern we’re in a series called One Word. Each day we take one word – a feeling or circumstance – and bring a word from God to it. Let the Word of God speak to your life.
Invocation
Make the sign of the cross, and say,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation Prayer
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) O Lord, I am lowly and humble. You alone are my inheritance. Amen.
Word: Psalm 74:17
“It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.”
Meditation
Winter by Anne Wolff
I opened my weather app to get a glimpse of the forecast for the week ahead. A high of 5 degrees on Monday. -2 on Tuesday. And -9 on Wednesday with a Wind Chill Advisory to make a real feel of -15 degrees. I muttered a very Minnesotan “oofta” as I closed the app and bundled up for the day.
Winter. It can be brutal. If you ask someone to describe the season, you’d hear phrases and words like hunker down, winter blues, lacking motivation, bitter, desolate, discouraged. It’s become common to plan a warm getaway in the dead of winter, or even snowbird south for a couple months. An escape plan if you will. Let’s face it—winter often gets a bad reputation.
So as I sit here on this frigid February day, how can I focus on the good in the dead of winter? In Genesis 8:22 God reminds us that His creation was intentional. “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” The patterns of nature function by God’s design. His glory is shining just as much in the cold winter as it is in the warm summer. And though a -15 degree day may not feel real glorious, God is at work.
I married into a farming family, and over the years I’ve gained a deep appreciation for the calm of winter. The equipment is tucked away after laboring in the fall, resting for the work ahead in the spring. It is necessary. The ground is still and the fields are quiet, but there is much important preparation happening underground during winter. It is necessary. My family takes time to truly rest and recharge after a long, demanding season. We catch up on sleep, we eat at the dinner table, we spend time with friends, we regroup. It is necessary. Seedtime and harvest, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. I see God’s purpose in winter.
Though the barren ground and stillness can feel discouraging, remember this season is part of God’s plan. It is intentional. Use the quiet of winter to draw closer to Him, preparing for what’s ahead.
Jesus, thank you for each season and cycle in our lives. When the days are cold and short, remind us that in the darkness you shine. In the midst of winter, remind us that spring lies ahead. Amen.
Prayer for Family
· For my immediate family (parents, spouse, siblings).
· For extended family (cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents)
· For close friends that are as family to me.
· For those who don’t have families, or whose families are broken.
· For forgiveness and reconciliation where there is division in my family.
· For provision where there is need in my family.
· For God to be the foundation, and the cross the center of my family.
· For a generation yet unborn, future members of our family.
Closing Prayer
O Lord and King, your Kingdom comes even without our prayer. But we pray that it would also come among us. We are desperate for your reign and rule, for all we see is rebellion. Come into my heart, my home, my family, my work, my church, my community. Rule with justice and with mercy. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.