I think I have a case of the winter blues. It hasn’t been all that cold here until this week, but on Monday afternoon our downstairs heat went out. Something about freezing in your own home can magnify one’s distaste for winter. We’ve known for awhile now that our rusty HVAC unit {at age 22} was on its last leg. But we were hoping to eek another season out of it. And I was hoping to get into a more interesting home improvement project this year, one with a little more aesthetic punch. No one ever says when you visit their home, “Oh! Let me show you around. Wait until you see what we did with our HVAC. It’s a 14 SEER unit and this baby heats and cools like a dream!”
At least I know what a SEER is now. And I know that an inside temperature of 53 degrees feels very uncomfortable. Also, it’s hard to type wearing gloves.
Heating issues aside, I need to perform a serious heart check this time of year. I’ve read several articles about how people in Norway embrace and even enjoy their winters, which are far more extreme than ours will ever be. They see the dark, cold season as an opportunity for enjoying Nordic sweaters and skiing, warm drinks and cozy fires, festivals and community. They don’t complain about the season or look for ways to escape it. They celebrate it.
I tend to spend the whole winter merely surviving or trying to escape—physically, mentally, and even spiritually. When our youngest was a toddler she couldn’t articulate the letter “r.” So when she was eating a meal or a snack she enjoyed she would say, “I want mo.” We knew what she meant. She wanted more. And I’m much the same. In several areas of life, “I want mo.” I even think, “I need mo.” I’m particularly prone to this way of thinking this time of year when I’m bored and a bit blue. Surely more of something would make me feel better.
Even though we painted and remodeled parts of our home a few years ago when we moved in, I would eagerly update colors and flooring to match newer trends. More money. I look at the Zillow app on my phone and dream about where we could live and how a particular home or yard feature might make life feel complete. More amenities. I walk through a shopping center and can easily believe new clothes, cuter shoes, or fancier furniture might satisfy my itch for contentment. More things.
Sometimes I even begin to wonder if the decisions we’ve made on behalf of our family are enough. Should we have the girls involved in more activities? I feel like I’m perpetually wondering and then wandering toward a hopeless desire for something else… an update, an upgrade, a new activity. Just a little more. Then at last, I imagine, all will be well.
Of course, this is a chasing after the wind. And my heart knows that neither you nor I will be fully satisfied this side of heaven. Augustine famously offered his explanation as to why this is: “Because you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee.”
My only hope at satisfaction, in any season, is to remember the truth of Augustine’s words. All we need is found in Him. He knows more about each of us than we know about ourselves. He knows how we are wired because He himself wired us. And we are wired to be most at rest––most content––when we look to Him for our help and hope. Not to Zillow, Instagram, Amazon, or even spring break.
Maybe my youngest and I are both right that we do, in fact, “need mo.” We need more of Him. Less of what this world has to offer in the way of content and consumerism. And more of what He has to offer in the way of peace and joy.
And maybe the Norwegians are right, as well, to see winter not as a time to desire more things, but as a time to drink more coffee, sit by more fires, read more books, and be around more people.
Here’s to enjoying the gift of warm homes and “mo” of the right stuff this season.
Hey, this blog is just we all need to read about and heed. Gladys Davis’ grandparents migrated here from Norway. Another activity families engaged in was painting their high paneled ceilings with colorful works of art! She is the only person that I know who does Bobbin lace! I used to visit her, and enjoyed seeing the various kinds of paintings, needle work, and handwork that she could still do at age 95.
It has taken me most of my life to realize I do not need to keep up with every new thing that is put out on the market. Growing up in the 40, 50, and 60’s if something broke you could repair it yourself or get it repaired, today they tell you it is cheaper to buy the product, whatever needs repaired, than repair it because it would cost or almost cost the same as a new one. Being human, I, like you, like and want all the nice things I see out there thinking how much nicer life would be if I had that or just do that, but this I have learned over my lifetime and know “Look full into His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”. His grace is sufficient. Now I am off to a hot cup of coffee and to read a book. Great blog Ms Holly.