I went for what may be my last walk of the year outdoors. It is nearly 60 degrees here in central Indiana on the 4th of December. The normal for us would be in the low 40-degree range. Today it is balmy for the first week of December. Well, I must get ready for tonight a storm comes in, and in a matter of a few hours, the temperature will drop over 30 degrees. We are promised snow by the end of the week. Not so much promised as threatened, but then again I am not a huge fan of the white stuff. I like a little snow around Christmas time and maybe through the first week of the new year and by then, I am ready for spring. Living in a part of the world where there are four distinct seasons has both pros and cons. It does help one remember that change is just a part of the way the world operates and serves as a reminder that nothing stays the same. Another positive regarding the change of season is that there is always some anticipation for the next season. Some like winter and anxiously await its arrival. Many folks like the promise of spring especially on a long, cold and dark winter evening. Spring carries the sign of new life and summer is the time to get outside and enjoy all the beauty of our world. Everyone has an opinion about which season is preferable. I remember while living in southeast Michigan and complaining a little about the weather and the seemingly never-ending winter, a friend said to me: “If you are going to live here you are going to have to embrace winter.” From that moment on I did attempt to embrace winter, I even bought myself snowshoes! I gave them away a couple of years ago as well. I enjoyed traveling my neighborhood and the city park in the snowshoes for they allowed me to see snow and its beauty in a way one cannot quite enjoy while shoveling the driveway. For a few years, Mrs. Blake and I went “up north” Michigan’s favorite playground. We went with others and had an enjoyable time. I learned to love sledding and tubing. We went on a dog sled ride as well. I have to admit that my friend was correct. If you are going to live in a land of winter, quit complaining and find a way to participate and seek some enjoyment.

The advice I received about the weather and the changing seasons is also advice that works for other circumstances as well. You can complain about having lousy parents, ungrateful siblings, being overlooked for advancement at work and a whole host of things and by doing so become bitter. Why not embrace what you cannot change and change what you can! One thing you can change is your attitude. It is your choice. Do not like the way things are in your life? Ask God to help you and seek to change the items that can and need changing. Commit the rest to God and move on! It might make the season brighter if we committed that of which we have little to no control and embrace God’s grace and seek His guidance and help in making necessary adjustments where you can and then embrace His grace and exclaim I am a child of God, a work in progress and I am an overcomer!

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