I’m told it’s 2 degrees here right now and with the wind chill feels like -7.
Maybe that’s why my fireplace feels especially cozy right now and my flickering candles smell so good. Or the fact that I’m wearing a fleece dress that feels more like a comfy bathrobe.
I’m reminded of the word that my daughter Janay taught me a while back. Apricity. An old, no longer used, English word that means “the warmth of the sun in winter”. I’ve written about it before. It’s a beautiful word with a lovely meaning.
Part of the reason that I like the word is because it doesn’t diminish the fact that winter is present. The sunshine doesn’t change the season. The fire in my fireplace doesn’t change the season. But both add warmth to get me through the season. To face the cold days with hope. To experience something lovely in the midst of something difficult and ugly and cold.
Jesus is our Apricity. Our lovely. Our warmth. Even, and maybe especially, on those days when the Son is most needed. The cold days of life when we are chilled to the bone by our circumstances. He is there offering His light and the heat of His presence.
Of course, being the Creator of the seasons, both the literal and the figurative, He can change them. But sometimes He would rather change US. Grow us. Make us more like Him. Cold seasons that draw us into His warmth can do that.
Come warm your chilly hands by His fire today. Catch a glimpse of His light. Melt into the reality of His presence.
Enjoy and fully experience Apricity…
Psalm 43:3 –
Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
