#13 Accept The Cold

As I’m wrapping up, I’d like to pose one final thought to bring this whole thing to a close. Try to reach a point where you accept winter’s cold as your new norm. It may not be the most wonderful time in your life. You might not be crazy about it, but it’s the way things are for now. Try not to get annoyed at the blast of frosty air when you open the front door, or the extra temptation to stay inside on the weekends. Accept the fact that those things are here for a while. 

Because, at the end of the day, you can’t control the weather. I know that sounds like an obvious thing, but deep down we all try to do it. I know I have from time to time. It’s silly, but still kind of true. I remember shortly after I started high school, I started a countdown for how long I had to go until I could move out to college. Yes, you read that right: an almost four year countdown. Nuts, ain’t it? 

But we often go through life like this. How many of us keep a similar countdown till the next weekend? I’m not saying that we should have nothing to look forward to, but sometimes we dwell so much on that moment that it winds up ruining a bunch of other ones for us. Mondays start to suck because they’re so far from fridays. And every moment in between becomes “dang, it isn’t friday yet!” 

And what’s worse, it can often put far too much emphasis on those moments that we are waiting for. All the anticipation winds up falling flat when we are waiting for that future moment. I have personally experienced it. When I started my current job, they put me on a 4-10 schedule, meaning I had Fridays off every week.

How cool, right?

Well, it was at first. But after a while, I started placing all my focus on my fridays. Then when it finally arrived, I felt immense pressure to make it the best day of my life. And while some of them were, the more time passed, the more miserable they became because I spent all my time stressing out about how to make it the best day ever. It’s an odd thing. Sometimes, having something mean a little less makes it feel more valuable. An ordinary day can be more exciting because our expectations are lower. When we let go of what ought to be, we give it space to be what it is. 

All I’m saying is to get comfortable with it being winter. The same God that made the sunny summers made the cozy winters. Maybe it’s a different season, full of different joys and pleasures. Maybe a season of ecstatic, jump-for-joy excitements is coming. But if you don’t get comfortable where you are right now, that season will feel like it’s taking even longer to get there. And in the meantime, you will miss out on a lot of good things. So much so that you may even get antsy once that thing you’re waiting for arrives. I know that’s what happened to me with my end-of-high school countdown. 

So take some time to identify the positives in your life right now. Are you living alone? Flip the lights on at 2am and watch as no one gets annoyed. Single? Do the math on how much free time you have, then go do something ridiculous that you wouldn’t be able to do with someone else. Take the time to embrace the positives of where you are now and truly cherish your life.

I pray that God gives you eyes to see all the good in the season that you’re in. I pray that you find the acceptance of where you are right now, and that it stops seeming so bad.

Until Next Time

May Peace be your Guide.