The snow is lightly falling outside this 1st day of November.  Winter isn’t just coming, it’s here!  On the Ponderosa, we’ve brought in the lawn furniture, winterized the trailer, stacked the firewood (we need to get more), and turned up the heat in the house.  On Saturday we’ll turn the clocks back and then look forward to our days getting shorter and shorter.  I’ll be honest that I’m not looking forward to nightfall beginning around 4 p.m.

In the last two days I’ve had two mice try to escape the cold outside to pass the winter indoors with us.  Their lives were sadly cut short in the attempt thanks to well-placed traps, but I fear there may be more varmints sharing our living space!  Unwelcome guests indeed!

I’m not a fan of winter, as I’ve lamented before, but we make the best of it here in Alberta and look forward to when the frost lifts around April.  A friend told me years ago, “You have to bloom where you’re planted.”  Great advice from someone who lives in Florida!  She’s never experienced bone chilling cold, and snow drifts three feet deep!  That said, the sentiment is sound.  “Bloom where you are planted.”  Regardless of where you live, or the circumstances you find yourself, it is important to shine before all men!  (Matthew 5:16)  In other words, BLOOM where God plants you!

I have a couple of friends now who are going through the darkest of seasons right now.  The cold reality of cancer is taking its toll on them and on their families.  They have challenging times ahead of them but they are facing their mortality head on and seem to blossom in the midst of their struggles.  Giving Glory to God, in the harshest of circumstances, they know what it means to BLOOM!  They are heroes to me!

I have a young friend, a brilliant writer, who is confined to a wheelchair.  She has shown such courage and stamina over the past few years coming to terms with her new reality.  I had the privilege to see that beautiful, young woman get baptized.  It’s not an easy road ahead for her but she continues to BLOOM in the face of such adversity!

Are you facing a winter of uncertainty?  Is Winter Coming, or is it already here?  Do the next few months look cold and daunting for you?  Whatever circumstances you find yourself, know that God is Sovereign.  He’s got you in the palm of His Hand!  (Isaiah 49:16)  He will never leave you or forsake you!  (Deuteronomy 31:6)  He has a plan and a purpose for all you are going through today and in the future.  (Jeremiah 29:11)  Continue to shine, and BLOOM wherever God plants you!