Freezing

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs -
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

Welcome to 2018 - and now you will all freeze with a winter chill!

This is what the world is telling us right now. I woke up to 31 degrees this morning, and will do the same for the next few mornings. This is Florida! This kind of cold usually doesn't make it all the way down to Florida, and if it does, it is usually here for a very short drive-thru visit. This time around, it's staying for a meal, and also for tea, and making itself comfortable for some story time.

These days I have a new appreciation for warmth and comfort.

I don't think one realizes how much comfort we need in extreme weather - hot or cold. When the hurricane came through this city this summer, I experienced the heat issue, when I was without power for almost a week. I couldn't stay in my home. I could not handle that kind of heat.

Now, in the winter, this blast of icy air has come down, which thrills me! If you know me, you know I love cold weather. However, I am without heat in my home (it needs to be repaired), and that changes things a bit. I live in an old place (built in 1950), so I know it comes with quirks. I have a few heaters going and I am doing well with wearing 5 layers and using 3 blankets. 

But it really does give me a true appreciation for how much we take for granted our comforts at home. And I continue to look upon this weather with excitement. I love having a cosy home, warm and comforting, and when the weather outside is frightful, come inside where it is delightful.

During these last several days of cold, I have been particularly reflective on the nature of nature. The power and majesty of God's creation. I look upon it in wonder. The words that best summarize this feeling is Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem "God's Grandeur". The last stanza is above.

Hopkins was masterful at word play and alliteration, and also paid a great deal of attention to nature. I love how there is a sense of wonder as he looks toward nature, and even amidst turmoil and strife, or extreme weather in our case, "nature is never spent" and somehow our bent world is looked after by the Holy Spirit, bringing us comfort. Within the warm breast, we can rest in Jesus. Within the bright wings, we marvel at His creation. To borrow from Hopkins, 'the world is charged with the grandeur of God'.