Always Winter, Never Christmas

“It's always nice to look out the window
“And see those very first few flakes of snow.”

My family and I moved from Utah to Texas earlier this year, so for the first time (unless another winter freeze hits) we’re going to have a warm Christmas. Growing up in Canada and then living in Utah, I’m used to winters akin to the White Witch’s reign in Narnia. 

“And later on we can go outside
“And create the impression of an angel that fell from the sky.”

I grew up building snow forts and making snowmen. We’d have snowball fights and go sledding down a nearby hill. As a kid, the year’s first snow was just as fun as Calvin describes it (minus the demon snowmen). But as the winter rolls on, especially as an adult, winter just seems to persist and it feels like it’ll never get warmer. Even though we know spring will come, it can still be depressing at times. 

“When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes
“Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies
“And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh
“For the green grass waiting on the other side.”

Life has emotional winters, as I’m sure we’ve all experienced. I mean COVID sometimes seems like a winter that’ll never end… and it’s even stopped holidays to some extent. Always winter, but never Christmas.

“It's always winter but never Christmas
“It seems this curse just can't be lifted
“Yet in the midst of all this ice and snow
“Our hearts stay warm cause they are filled with hope.”

If we look back into the White Witch’s endless winter in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the winter didn’t end all of a sudden. And the end didn’t begin until the Pevensie children began bringing hope back to Narnia. And the first thing to happen (even before the springtime thaw began) was Christmas. Father Christmas brought the children their presents, only adding to the hope of Narnia’s freedom. 

“And everything it changed overnight
“This dying world you brought it back to life
“And deep inside I felt things
“Shifting everything was melting
“Away oh away
“And you gave us the most beautiful of days.”

Christmas brings us hope, even if you don’t celebrate it for religious reasons, as we look towards a better world, in the midst of the darkest time of the year (at least in the northern hemisphere). And it only gets brighter and brighter after Christmas. “Halfway out of the dark,” the Eleventh Doctor said (Doctor Who: “A Christmas Carol”). 

“Cause when it's always winter but never Christmas
“Sometimes it feels like you're not with us
“But deep inside our hearts we know
“That you are here and we will not lose hope.”

It’s hard to find hope sometimes. Obviously on this blog we testify of the reality of Jesus Christ, especially at this time of year. But even after Christmas is over and we look forward to 2022, we will still look to Him. At New Years we often talk about change and new beginnings. While I’ve made my thoughts about New Year’s resolutions known before, I believe in change, because I believe in a Savior. He is where our hope comes from. 

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

(Lyrics by Relient K “In Like a Lion”)