Apricity.  It’s an old English word that isn’t used any more.  Janay, my oldest daughter, told me about it.  It has become her favorite word.  And it’s no wonder…

Just the sound of it is lovely.  Apricity.  And it’s one of those words whose beauty in sound matches it beauty in meaning.  Apricity – the warmth of the sun in winter.

I am experiencing apricity right now in Colorado.  Amidst the cold of winter, there is a very present warmth from the ever present sun in this wonderful state.  It’s what makes winter so “do-able” here.  There is a beauty that comes when the light and warmth of the sun meets the cold and dark of winter.  The sun eventually always wins out.  No matter how many snow storms come, the heat of the glorious sun will come and melt every last hint of winter.  Even in those winter month where the snow lingers, the sun sheds its light and casts its warmth on the blanket of white that persists. Until, one day, when all traces of winter are left behind.

Beyond experiencing apricity in the physical sense, I have also experienced apricity in the spiritual sense.  I am now witnessing others who are experiencing apricity in a very real sense right this minute.

Snow storms come into our lives in the forms of difficulty, tragedy, heartache, and loss.  Things that seem to cover our lives in cold.  Seasons of emotional and spiritual winter.  Where our hearts ache to feel warmth again.  Where hearts have been hurt so badly that they either break or turn numb from the harshness of the cold.

And then it happens.  Apricity.  God sheds light and warmth on the winter that has consumed our hearts.  He brings comfort and hope that this winter, too, will pass and that in the meantime He will keep us safe and warm in the “shadow of His wings”. Through His apricity, God brings joy and promise, safety and peace to a place once cold and lonely. And hearts once again melt and thaw and feel.

I will never again look at the brilliant blue sky against the stark white snow here in Colorado the same way again.  It will always be a picture of God’s light and warmth in the middle of a season of cold.

Apricity.  Sadly, a word that is no longer used.  But, thanks to Janay, a word that is now going to be a new part of my vocabulary.  And maybe, like Janay, my new favorite word…

Exodus 33:22 –  I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand… 

Psalm 91:1 – He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 17:8 – Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 91:4 – He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

John 1:5 – The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.