Winter Rest

I sit in front of the Christmas tree early on New Year’s Day. Through the front windows I watch the sun coming up over the tree line of the Browns’ pasture, orange and blue. My Moravian star shines over the porch, moving slightly in the wind, a reminder of my North Carolina roots.

I have dragged my feet about taking down the Christmas decorations. The weeks before Christmas were a busy blur and I barely got everything put up and the tubs back in the attic before Adam and Jess came for the holiday. So this week after Christmas is when I have relaxed and enjoyed the lights, especially on these cold dark mornings.

The stress of the holidays takes its toll, especially on those of us who feel the burden of the cooking, cleaning, shopping, decorating, wrapping, etc. A friend recently texted how exhausted she was, saying, “Look, the holidays are hell on the females of the world.” Amen and amen, I responded.

So I feel the need for rest. Outside, my flower garden lies dead and brown, but I know that the daffodil bulbs are lying warm and snug underneath the ground, preparing to pop up in a few months. The same is true of the daylilies, daisies, and irises, all sending their roots down deep into the soil for nourishment.

I take this wintertime to do the same — to go to bed early with a good book, sleep a little later, and sit in the predawn hour with my coffee and devotional books. I’m ‘peopled out’ and feel the need for time alone to replenish my resources, to reach down deep like my plants.

At the library I picked up a book called Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, by Katherine May. She advocates for allowing ourselves to take time for rest and renewal during times of actual or figurative winter:

“Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through…Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.”

She continues:

“Once we stop wishing it were summer, winter can be a glorious season in which the world takes on a sparse beauty and even the pavements sparkle. It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment, for putting your house in order.” (page 14)

In our busy, task-oriented world, we can feel guilty for taking time for rest and recuperation, so we push, push, push until we crash. I am learning to pick up on the signs that I need a break — low level anxiety, feeling easily irritated, brain fog, no energy, depression — and take a stretch out, as my Grandmother used to say.

I challenge you to give yourself permission during this time of sparse beauty and quiet to make rest a priority. Take the time you need to replenish and get in touch with your inner self. Block out the noise that keeps us from hearing God and build up your resources for the Spring to come.

Are you interested in living healthier and more grounded during the coming year? I will be sharing on this topic in an interactive session and selling copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Change Your Habits, Change Your Life at the Chatsworth/Murray County Public Library on Saturday, January 10 at 11:00 and at the Calhoun/Gordon County Library on Saturday January 31 at 11. I would love to see you there!