My husband hangs Christmas lights every year for extra income. Though he may never admit it, I think there is a part of him that does it because he is a closet adrenaline junkie. This year was no different. He had over thirty houses on the books. Now, it is important to realize that Christmas lights don’t go up in July or September. They go up at the end of November and early December. Even in Texas, its cold. Not blizzard cold, but considerably cold to people who are acclimated to summers on the surface of the Sun.

One of the houses he booked was a large estate and this one was going to need all hands on deck. That meant my preteen daughter and I would be enlisted to Dad’s army. As expected, that morning was colder than any day of the season. In fact, I would argue that my daughter’s preteen personality had recently become much like this Texas winter season, colder and colder with the occasional warm days. She used to be my snuggler, so much so, we nicknamed her “Bug”. She was always at my side, reaching out to me for comfort. As she has grown, her desire for mom to be her source of snuggles, hugs, and comfort has waned.

As we worked on the job site, the cold weather just nagged on. Our fingers were numb, slowing progress. Our faces were a little wind-whipped, leaving us a bit raw. But out of the blue, right in the middle of it all, Bug was in my arms. She had come to me for warmth and comfort from the weather we were working in.

That’s when the Lord showed me: I didn’t make the weather cold in order to hold her, but because of the weather being cold that day, she sought me for warmth and comfort from the elements. I just seized the opportunity to hold her again. 

Our Lord is no different.

He may not make the Winter seasons of this life, but surely He seizes the opportunity to hold us when we come running to Him for comfort, warmth, direction, safety. We often become confused, thinking that He causes these trials in life to happen, but maybe just maybe He didn’t. Even still, He uses those opportunities to reunite with us when we have been distant preteens at heart.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 ESV