Psalm for a Winter Day

     I found myself very tired of winter this morning and then I ran across a "Prayer: Psalm for a Winter Day" in a book entitled Fresh Bread by Joyce Rupp. It helped me see this time of cold and barrenness in a new way.

     Surely I am not the only one who needs a new perspective on what seems a longer than usual winter time. I pray that you appreciate as much as I have.

*Prayer: Psalm for a Winter Day*

Lord God, creator of all seasons and ages,

I praise you for all that is beautiful in this winter day of February coldness:

the strong, black patterns of trees standing tall,

the utter whiteness of snow as it layers the lawn,

the stillness broken only by the sound of a brave snowbird,

the bush under the rainspout drenched in ice.

Oh, all that is glistening with cold this morning, praise the Lord!

All creatures snuggled away in nests, caves, and trees, praise the Lord!

Oh, all peoples bundled in winter wear, scurrying to work, praise the Lord!

Cars, trucks, and buses chugging along the freeway, praise the Lord!

Cows, steers, and sheep on hillsides, braving cold, praise the Lord!

Oh, crunch and crackle of shoes on frosty snowfall, praise the Lord!

All ponds and lakes deeply frozen and lovely formed, praise the Lord!

Little rabbits leaving deep footprints 'neath my window, praise the Lord!

Yes, all the winter world, whose beauty we so often miss,

whose weather we so often condemn, praise the Lord,

and bless God's holy name,

for our world has wonders and tiny miracles

if only our hearts as well as our eyes are open to see.

                                                                                        Joyce Rupp

May you find in the things that surround you voices that praise God for all that is and for all that is yet to come.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Peggy