Issue 1273 – Wintercreep – October 17, 2023
It is a gray and drizzly day here in the Fraser Valley. It rained off and on during the night, so everything is wet. I’m watching and listening to the raindrops hit the top of the deck’s handrail and slowly roll down to drip off the end. The steady drip-drip-drip is not an unpleasant sound.
Out in the back garden, the last of the apples sits on the tree. It is the only one left. It will either soon be picked by one of the grandgirls nabbed by a wandering raccoon or fall to the ground. Its bright red colour hides its weariness.
The pumpkins have been picked. They did very well, considering where they were planted. The last of the green tomatoes are slowly ripening on our kitchen window sill.
Many of my farming friends have all their harvest in and are now working on equipment maintenance so they can take a much needed break after months of a hectic pace.
The days are getting noticeably shorter. Sunrise comes a little later each day, and the sound sets a little earlier. We will adjust our clocks in three weeks to give us an “extra” hour of sunlight. It’s an antiquated custom that has long outlived its usefulness, but we persist in maintaining it.
Many geese and swans have been flying high overhead, honking and trumpeting about their southbound journey.
All signs that we are in the season of wintercreep. That’s what I call that time between early autumn and the actual start of winter. We know the official date for winter’s arrival is December 21. Still, depending on where you live, it could arrive much sooner or later.
With the changing weather patterns brought about by tilting the earth on its axis, the arrival and departure of actual winter weather becomes harder to forecast. The North Pole is closer to Siberia than Canada and still moving). It isn’t a new phenomenon; we have had weather changes of this type many times before.
Just as predicting the actual arrival of the winter weather in our area is difficult, so is predicting the timing of the Lord’s return. That doesn’t stop countless people from doing so.
I understand the desire to know. After all, the moment we get to glory and the Lord brings true justice will be wonderful beyond description and too marvellous for words.
Some even strive diligently to “speed the Lord’s return.” That is a laudable sentiment but sheer foolishness. The Lord will come back when He has decided He will return. We don’t influence him. He is sovereign.
What we can do, however, in the interim is to live each day as if He will return that day.
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. hen two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:36-44
We’re not called to guess the date. We won’t know it. We are called to live each day in anticipation of his return.
Just as wintercreep prepares us for the coming of winter, daily life can prepare us to be ready for the Lord.
May you be found ready when He returns.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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