Winter Storms

"You lead me beside still waters.  You restore my soul."

These words I write sitting on a log at the beach.  The hightide waves are very gently, very quietly kissing the shore.  Not a soul is here...not even the birds.  I think about how different this is from a few days ago when the waves were so turbulent, the fog so low and the wind bitter cold.

The beach shows evidence of stom and chaos.  Driftwood in the form of huge logs and branches clutters the surface of the sand.  Debris and garbage are caught in the gnarled pockets of roots and wood.  Out in the water a large system of upside down tree root gives evidence of a tumultuous landslide that stripped this massive entity from the earth and sent it tumbling to its death in the sea.

 

The tide is high so there is little room to walk, nor are there signs of life.  The usual sand dollars and shells covered by the rippling water.  Only sand and debris...

 

 

Yet the waters are quiet.  A morning haze is dissipating to reveal a rare blue sky.  And the junk on the beach gives me a reminder of the cleansing effects of winter storms.  There is a kindness in its severity - to remove the unhealthy, breaking apart, to make room for new growth.  The storms reshape the land and the beach and get it ready for spring.

  

I am this beach - being reformed by the severity of Love.  God cuts away the junk and pounds His waves at the shores of my heart.  He brings bitterness and fog.  And yet, today He grants a reprieve.  He leads me to still waters and exposes the debris.  Debris which should be a badge of shame but to which He says, "This is My doing.  It is good." 

So I will give in to the process of the wind and waves and brace myself for more storms ahead.  After all, winter is still upon me.  I know there will be much garbage to look at and haul away.  But I take heart, for the purging and cutting process is part of the Love of winter.  

(However...I really look forward to spring!)