Winter symbolizes death and with its impending arrival, you can see that all around. First off, all the colors of the trees I was marveling about a week or two ago are all gone. There might be one or two stragglers with some brown leaves still attached, but most deciduous trees are mere skeletons.
Today was also the day I tilled under the garden. With several frosts under out belt, the tomato plants had long died and dried up; rotten fruit hanging from it’s once lush vines now decayed to brown, crisp veins. The peppers had some dried remains still on the brown bushes. And there were a few spoiled watermelon that never matured to full glory but rather decayed on the withering vine. None of this was a match for the motorized tiller that indiscriminately tore at the ground and remaining garden vegetation and tossed it violently. Soon enough, it was a bare plot of brown earth ready for the cold winter ahead.
And finally, today was opening day for rifle deer hunting. On our way out this morning, we came across two spooked deer on the road. They were very skittish as if they knew there were camouflaged figures after them. Between them and the more frequent gunshots in the distance, it would be hard to miss opening day.
All these indicators of death are just parts of the cycle as a whole. I am thankful for my faith that gives me hope beyond just a mere cycle of nature. While God put in place these cycles, He also sacrificed His Son so that we may transcend death — what is, for most people, the end of a cycle.
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
