By the time you read this, there could be snow on the ground and a chill in the air. But, as I write it, the sun is shining brightly, and the temperature is near 50 degrees, just like it has been for the last few days.  Everyone seems to be enjoying the delayed winter -- especially since we know it can’t last much longer. 
Yes, the wintry weather will be upon us very shortly.  Most of us have made our preparations.  We’ve purchased antifreeze and ice scrapers for our cars; rock salt and shovels or snow blowers for outside; and coats, hats, scarves, and mittens for our bodies.  In this part of the country, we know how to prepare for winter.
As I was taking mental inventory the other day of what I might still need to do to be ready for the first arctic blast of the season, I was reminded of another kind of “cold.”  It’s the kind of cold that affects us internally -- down deep.  This kind of cold doesn’t blow in suddenly, like a snowstorm.  It creeps in gradually over time.  Whenever we get hit with a crisis, or life deals us a bad hand, it can lead to feelings of bitterness.  And when that happens, icy patches often develop on our hearts.
It starts out as a defense mechanism.  To keep something else from hurting us in the future, we build up frozen layers over our emotions.  They keep us from feeling pain, but they also keep us from feeling empathy for others or sensitivity to their needs.  It’s not a good tradeoff, all things considered.  I’m a firm believer that pain has a purpose and is not to be wasted. God can use it in our lives to teach us valuable things, like a greater dependence on Him.  He can also use it to help us relate to the sufferings of others, so we can better minister to them.  But letting it make us cold and hard helps no one.
Maybe as we go about making preparations for cold weather outside, we ought to give some thought to warding off the cold inside our hearts as well.  The only way I know to do that is by counting our blessings.  Take the focus off all the negative things that have happened and concentrate only on the positives.  I know I’ve given this advice many times before, but it still works in every situation I can think of.  When you stop to consider every kindness that has been done to you, every time you were granted forgiveness, every good gift you’ve received, you just can’t help but feel warm inside.  And the more you think about them, the more the icy patches of your heart will melt.  Pain is sure to come to all of us many times throughout our lives, but it shouldn’t cause us to build an igloo around our emotions.  Let the storms rage.  We can still be warm and toasty, if we keep our focus where it should be.
Thanks for giving me a moment of your time.