What does it mean to winterize?
As sure as we are of the warmth of the sun in the summer, just as sure is the annual coming of winter. Are you ready for winter? What comes to mind first? Are you thinking of snow tires and vehicle safety maintenance? Where are your scrapers, warm boots and clothing? Do you check the weather stripping around windows and doors and pull out the warm comforters?Do we keep a shovel close at hand, or a bucket of salt or sand or other remedies to melt icy steps and sidewalks? Or do you embrace winter and are excited for a fresh dump of snow to hit the mountains (large or small) to enjoy winter activities, while you collect your winter gear.
How do we survive the brutal cold winds, long periods of overcast skies or cold temperatures when they arrive? How about your spiritual life, does it experience harsh realities of winter? Are we aware of how God’s redirects us or are we only aware of the cold changes. We know that if a tree is to bear fruit it needs winter. We know to bear much fruit (the Spirit’s Fruit), no matter the season we need to be connected to the Vine, Our Lord Jesus and to surrender to His will. John 15:8 states, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
We know that trees survive the winter because they have a strong healthy root system that runs deep. We too, need to so be rooted in God and drawing on His unending resources that nothing can shake us. Winter can be a time of renewal and a time of rest, a time to seek God and to bring us to a place of deeper surrender to Him. As we grow deeper in our Lord and Saviour, we gain new perspectives in this time of rest and recovery, an invisible preparation for a new fruit-bearing season.A time to recover our energy and recharge for the new season to follow.
When winter arrives, no matter what we have gathered or how we have prepared, we can trust solely in Christ’s preparedness.Staying plugged into Jesus the Vine through Bible Study and Prayer, through the Word and the Sacraments, helps to winterize our faith by staying connected to the One who keeps and holds us in His gift of new life–even when the seasons of our lives change. Strengthened, we can proclaim our faith and hope, and encourage others, for Jesus’ sake. Ultimately, we await hopefully expectant for spring to come upon our winter, and the promise of a new life with Christ eternally.
Thanks Be to Thee, Lord Jesus!
In His Service, In All Seasons, Sherley Hearty VP DA ABC
Serving in His Strength” is a blog
published by the Member Development Committee of
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League–Canada, Inc.
Lutheranwomen.ca
2025