WINTER WONDERLAND

WINTER , for some, is a wonderful time of year...but for many others, they loathe it!  They can't find anything good about it; and they WONDER why God ever created it.  Yet, winter has so much to teach us.

I remember a cold, snowy winter when we traveled to IN to celebrate our anniversary (in March).  We stayed in an old lodge at Pokagon State Park.  One of the activities offered was to take a guided tour of the woods surrounding the lake.  The  Park Ranger revealed to us many things that were "growing" and "alive" in the dead of winter.  Our "untrained eyes" couldn't see, but with the help of the Ranger, our eyes were opened to see much beauty and life growing all around us.
Of course, some things were dormant--resting until spring.  But they weren't DEAD!!!

As Solomon wrote in The Book of Ecclesiastes, "To everything there is a season--a time to be born and a time to die; a time to laugh and a time to cry; a time to lift up and a time to let go; a time to spend and a time to refrain from spending; a time to speak and a time to be silent; etc."
[Paraphrased from Chapter 3]

Time is running out for 2012.  A new year awaits us.  I suggest you reflect and review what you've accompished and what you didn't finish in 2012.  Then look at what you need to attend to in the coming year.

As a heart doctor says in a TV commercial:  "Time waits for no one!"  OUT with the old year...IN with the new!

Many WONDER and WORRY what the new year will bring.  Others WAIT upon the Lord--believing He will guide them, bless them, provide for them, strengthen them, and protect them.