it won't be long now. the cold weather and darkness will start to give way to warmers and more light. Sure as anything.

This winter has been one of my most difficult of all. Seth's dentist--a really really sweet lady who just totally has a chill attitude and loving heart-- said that when she was about my age (she is so youthful it's hard to imagine she's older than crusty old Lew), she hit a winter where it got really hard to bear.

The darkness...

The cold...

always cold...always stumbling around...

and its dirty!

the streets

the car...

everything.

and you don't want to open the doors and clean and air things out because it's cold as hell out there!!!

and you don't move.

and you eat.

man, i started eating on November 27th when my Mom and Dad got here, and I didn't stop until January 22!

That's one thing that has changed. I don't crave food all the time. My body has adjusted to the fact that I'm never going to enjoy direct sunlight again, and has learned to produce seratonin all on its own.

If this winter stretched on, I bet that my lungs would learn how to deal with the withering dryness that has turned them to lunchbags for 5 weeks. I bet that my skin would learn to find moisture from within...that my capillaries would learn to withold my blood's heat from the air...

who knows? I could become a Mainer. No. Never. That's "Geo-genetical". You have to be born a Mainer. Mainers are tough and kind. Mainers are wise and strong. They keep a secret. Mainers are pretty tight.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm enjoying winter. No. I'm enjoying LIFE within the context of the season we're in. There's an art/skill/discipline/gift, there, eh? To recognize God, here, present, loving me with True Father Love, in a land of shadow and cold. I recognize Him in you.