We get a lot of snow here. And it lasts for a long time. Most people I know, who live here, very nearly despise the snow. And from my observations, that mindset makes for a very miserable season.
I love the snow. I didn't really, a few years ago. Partly, perhaps, because I get cold so easily; my extremities take a long time to warm up, once exposed to the frigid air. But when I was younger, I greatly enjoyed the winter months. Because that meant sledding, snow ball fights, building snow families and snow castles, flying across the field on the toboggan that was pulled behind the snowmobiles. Even before we moved nine years ago, growing up in the "city", winter was incredibly fun to me. As long as we were bundled with enough layers, hours could be spent out in the snow. There were limitless possibilities in a winter wonderland.
As I grew older and found myself in the middle of my teenage years, the idea of staying warm inside the house, wrapped in a blanket, keeping the feeling in my fingers and toes, seemed a lot more appealing to me. I suppose it was a habit I started, and not a very good one. I missed out on so much that could only happen out of doors. Winter then became a season I dreaded, because that now meant that I "couldn't" go outside for six or seven months. One year I even got what a doctor called something like Winter Blues. If I remember right, I think it was because I had gone so long without getting proper sun exposure, if any at all. And being cooped up inside for so long isn't really good for anyone.
But what I think changed all that was winter of 2005. That time of my life will always be a bearer of fond memories for me.
We live in what could be described as a temporary house/garage. We used to simply call it the garage, but after living in it for nine and a half years now, we have somehow made it more of a home. It belongs to my grandparents, who originally built it to be a garage. For years we would come up here camping before we actually moved, and we eventually upgraded from staying in a tent or our camper to staying in "the garage". And over those years, we gradually turned the upstairs into living quarters and we made a makeshift kitchen, and it just seemed like the logical place to temporarily stay in when we moved, until we could build our own house. And now nine years later, we are still in it. Every year it's "this year" or "next year" that we will build our house, but the Lord has not yet provided for us to do so. But actually, now it is very likely that next year will be the year. :)
Anyways, to make a long story very short, this place is now moving closer to becoming a house. My grandpa changed his mind on the garage plans and a few years ago, the garage door was removed and a beautiful, large picture window was inserted in its place. That was a joyous event! A few more windows were put it and the storm doors replaced with a regular and a screen door. We still have a concrete floor, but we make do with rugs.
So in the late fall of 2005, he started working on the upstairs. Prior to this, it had all been an open upstairs, and since we moved in 1998, we had hung sheets to serve as walls for our bedrooms. We actually grew accustomed to it. But now he was going to be putting in walls, and a real floor compared to the OSB flooring we had (and still have partly). He started on a room in the west end for my sisters and I. We emptied all of our furniture and things into the rest of the upstairs, and were shocked at how crowded it became. It's amazing how much stuff one can accumulate in seven years! We tried fitting where we could to sleep, on the floor, on the couch, any flat space we could find. But we all shortly decided it would be much easier, not to mention much nicer, to stay in our cabin for a while until he was done.
My parents built an early-American-style log cabin up in our woods in 2003. It was something they had dreamed of doing for years, and it was a wonderful experience to watch them build it, my sisters and I helping as much as we could. We rent it out to vacationers, and it also serves as a great retreat place for family and friends, and friends of friends.
People often ask us why we don't live in it. Here we have this beautiful cabin just sitting there and we live in a garage. Well, we actually did try it once, staying in there for a few weeks. It was nice, but at the end of those few weeks, it started to feel a little crammed. It's really great for two or three people, or more even if for just a weekend. But for a family of five to live in, even though we are very close and love to spend time with each other, there just wasn't very much room.
So, once again, under different circumstances, we decided to give it another shot. And it turned out to be one of the most wonderful times of my life. Not too long after we "moved" up there, we got our first real good snow of the season. It was....breathtaking.
The Chronicles of Narnia had just been released that month of December and of course, my sisters and I loved it. And that snow looked as if it had transformed our world into a land like Narnia. It snowed and it snowed, and still it snowed some more. Every branch of every tree was covered in sparkling white clouds, and everything was still and quiet.
Our homestead, right now, is near the middle of our field, without many trees immediately around us. So to be in the woods allowed us to experience the wonders and beauty of a true winter wonderland in all its splendor. I would walk out onto the cabin porch and, even at night, see the snow glistening all around like millions and billions of sparkling diamonds. And at night, I'd look up and see the stars through the bare trees, and every night seemed to be perfectly clear, giving us a pristine view of an expanse of breathtaking, shimmering stars. And there would be no sound, except the occasional thump of a load of snow sliding off a branch and thudding to the ground. But it almost seemed that in that quiet, the sparkling of the snow and the stars even had a sound. If it really could have had a sound, it would have been music, perhaps that only my heart could hear. It was beautiful.
Our time spent together as a family in those four months were absolutely priceless. It was so peaceful. And I think it was just what we needed. The years of '04 and '05 were quite crazy as we had some relatives move in with us. My aunt and uncle had divorced and she and the kids moved up and in with us, as did my grandma and then soon after, my other aunt. I love my family immensely, but there wasn't much peace for a while.
So it was a lovely reprieve to get away to a quiet, peaceful place for those months.
Since then, winter has been extra special to me. We haven't yet had a winter quite like that again, but each time it snows, it seems to bring with it a peacefulness that reminds me of that time. And I think it's helped even more to quiet my heart to focus less on the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season and so much more on Jesus Christ and His beautiful sacrifice, especially this time of year, when He should be the focus, but is so easily overshadowed. He is so worthy of our praise and our full attention!
So now comes the end of my post on snow. :) This past weekend we got our first real snow of the year, so thus is my reason for the topic.
Now I will end this, as my family and I are getting ready to watch Holiday Inn, one of our traditions, one of the few I can actually think of. It usually takes just doing what we do to realize it's actually a tradition.
To whoever may read this, I wish you a very, merry Christmas, and may you know the depths of God's love even greater than ever.

Sincerely,
Shalea

"For to the snow He says, 'Fall on the earth,'

And to the downpour and the rain, 'Be strong.'

- Job 37:6

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

And do not return there without watering the earth

And making it bear and sprout,

And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will not return to Me empty,

Without accomplishing what I desire,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

For you will go out with joy

And be led forth with peace;

The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. "

- Isaiah 55:8-12