That First Day

I love the winters here in Texas.  They are amazing.  It almost never gets at or below freezing and it's just chilly enough to wear comfy clothes and not freeze to death.  It stays in the 40s and 50s.  I am good with that.  I think I have come to enjoy this weather so much because every other season in Texas is just hot.

Hot, hotter, and hottest!

And I don't love that so much.  Well, I hate it.  But I suffer on.  So in those "winter" months I really try to soak it up.  It's sort of weird reading everyone's status about how much they want winter to be over and they "just want Spring to come!!"  And I get that.  I really do.  I lived in places like Indiana and Idaho for all of my winters previous to moving here.  So I really get it.  And I use to mentally cry over those dark days in February when the cold just wouldn't quit.

Today was pretty chilly here.  It was in the low 40s.  And it reminded me of those long dark winters, and I once more felt sympathy for my northernly friends.  But, it also reminded me of another time.  A day every year that comes.  A day that reminds me of hope.  A day that tells me that the sun has not forgotten who we are and will come back to us once again.

It's that first day when it is truly warm.  That first day of the year when you tilt your head back, push your chin towards the sky, close your eyes and the sun warms your face.  There is nothing like that moment for me.  It's like 100% pure magic.  It is a moment filled with hope not only for sun but for a future and for good things to come.

Now maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but I most often remember this day every year when I was at Purdue.  When I would be walking on campus, tired and cold.  When I would be crying on the inside from studying for midterms and just wishing it was Spring Break.  A day when I would be mentally planning my summer and wondering what magical details it would hold.  And then, I would feel it.  I would feel the sun beating down on my face, and I would know.  I would know I could make it through the next few months of tests and homework and cold.

Because the sun was coming back.  And that made it alright again.

I don't get that here in Texas.  I don't think anyone in Texas knows that feeling.  They/we don't have to suffer through long winters.  This is our break.  (Or at least that is how I see it.)

This makes me think of trials and how they often feel long, and horrible, and they just come back to hit us over and over again.  And it feels like there is no end in sight.  Sometimes our trials can seem so unbearable and we wonder why Heavenly Father can't just ease up on us.  Not even make it go away, but just lighten the load, right?  But would you ever fully appreciate the sun if you didn't know what a freezing cold day felt like? And wouldn't you appreciate it that much more if there were lots of freezing cold days in a row?  Or would we ever appreciate the sacrifice made on the cross if we were never tempted and fell short at times?

So sometimes I miss that feeling of magic on the first warm day after a bitter cold.  Don't curse me too much for my "nice" winters.  Your day will come.  It will come sooner than you know and every bit of hope for your future will be right there waiting for you.  And it will be fabulous!

Carry on my cold and shivering friends.  Carry on!!