There is a winter in all of our lives,
a chill and darkness that makes us yearn
for days that have gone
or put our hope in the days yet to be.
We need a winter in our lives,
like nature around us,
a time of rest, a time to stand still,
a time to reacquaint ourselves
with the faith in which we live.
It is only then that we can draw strength
from the one in whom we are rooted
take time to grow and rise through the darkness
into the warm glow of your springtime.

Amen.