“Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.”
Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
In the Christian calendar today marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a time associated with sacrifice, grief, and contemplation of our mortality. Honestly, though, haven’t we already been living in a perpetual state of Lent for nearly a year? Just about the last thing I need are ashes on my forehead to remind me of the realities of death right now. What I do need is rest.
In early January I picked up Katherine’s May’s latest book Wintering on a whim, or so I thought. Really my soul needed it. It’s a gorgeous, comforting reflection on those seasons of our lives marked by stagnation, of needing to turn inward. I sighed with relief as I read it. Finally, someone was giving me permission to own this season as a fallow one.
If there’s anything I feel I need to give up this Lent, it’s my constant urge to turn this time into anything other than what it is: difficult, depressing, yet temporary. Winter is here. Spring will return – somehow.
(Recommended resources about rest: The Nap Ministry | Black Liturgies | Sacred Acoustics Meditation Music )