when everything shuts down

I am so not a fan of winter.

The cold.

The snow.

The inconvenience.

I hate it all.

And yet while walking the dog through the storm I was reminded of the one thing that I love about a winter storm. The quiet. The absolute quiet that is a result of everything shutting down.

Which is interesting...because I usually fear that shutting down. I fear the storm that is so to the bone rattling, that everything inside of you goes blank. Have you ever been there? In a storm so raging, you can barely remember who you are anymore? You can not focus on a single thing because nothing makes sense?

But the quiet. It is there. In the midst of the storm. And it is beautiful, isn't it?

And so I walked through the snow that I hate and I looked to the grey sky that screamed of weariness and I thanked the Lord for this necessary season that is not my favorite. And I thanked Him for the unruly dog that needed walking and joyfully ran through the drifts and inches of cold. And I praised Him for this freezing and brutal stripping of everything warm and comfortable, because without it, I might forget how good even just one second free from a storm is. Without it, I might have missed out on the peace that is possible, the peace that is there, as the winds blow and the storm rages on.