Casandra Martin

Record freezing temperatures have gripped the southern United States. Houston (where I live) has held its breath, dug out the coats, and watched as news stations warn us about the dangers to the 3 P’s (pipes, plants, and pets for those of you in places who are shaking your heads because we need to be told not to leave our dogs outside in 19 degree weather.) Our little neighborhood is blanketed against the cold. No, I mean that literally. The yards are covered in sheets and blankets as we try to protect our tropical plants from temperatures that are the reason we chose to live in south Texas to begin with.

It wasn’t always this way for me. I grew up in Minnesota. Yes, that Minnesota. Years ago I would have seen a 19 degree day in January as balmy and begged my mom to let me go outside to play because it had warmed up so much. My brother, sister, and I would have worked on the snow fort and stockpiled snowballs for the next neighborhood war.

However you view winter, this season provides us with an opportunity to see God. We are, at this moment, enjoying the fulfillment of a centuries-old promise. Every time the seasons turn, the wind blows, the rain falls, or the sky changes, we are living in the full embrace of God’s faithfulness.

This is what God promised Noah in Genesis 8:22 –

“As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

day and night will never cease.”

The Jesus Resolution compels me to look for God in every day. The very weather we enjoy (or complain about) speaks to His goodness, faithfulness, and movement all around us. Next time I watch the weather, I am going to see the map as a reminder that God controls every wind, plans each rain storm, and spins the earth so we can enjoy changing seasons. Each time He does, He remembers a promise He made to man who walked with Him – all so I can learn to walk with Him.