(A change from my monthly updates, here is a prayer for the new season)

Welcome winter. Today, the Winter Solstice ushers us into this new season. The sun has been retreating. On this, the longest night of the year, we say farewell to the previous season and embrace the new.

God, our Creator, thank You for everything You gave us in autumn. We thank You for the beauty of transition from summer to winter. The trees were radiant with splendor. The geese and birds sang to us as they made their migration. The air around us waffled back and forth from warm to cold. We took time to be grateful. With family and friends we celebrated Thanksgiving – a pause in the calendar to focus on Your goodness.

Like the trees, shedding their leaves, we release the former season. Along with trials, there was immense goodness. We take with us the growth experienced. The leaves of the trees served a purpose for a time, but now, they are gone. New ones will come in spring. In this winter season, the trees rest.

Father God, we embrace Your rest. This is a season of clarity and healing. The hush brought by the newly fallen snow, offers us the peace required for a time of deepened encounter with You. In the quiet of winter, we reflect on the path we have walked. We reflect on the ways You, our Creator, have made yourself known.

Psalm 42:8 says, At night, Your song is with in us – a prayer to our God. Right now, in the darkness, we receive Your songs. As night overtakes day, we welcome the songs You have for this season. Let a sound be heard through creation as we sing of Your goodness, as we seek the healing available to us, as we embrace the rest that brings restoration.

Welcome winter. Welcome this season that calls us inward.

God, our Creator, “The day is yours, and also the night; you established the sun and the moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” (Psalms 74:16-17)

We thank you for the gift of this winter season.