valleys.

I haven't written in the past couple days because I was waiting for inspiration to strike me. But then yesterday I remembered that that's not really how I write, and it'd been so long since I had written regularly that I had forgotten my method. Typically I sit down, no real semblance of an idea in my mind, and just start writing. Thoughts, ideas, and dreams flow out of me that I didn't really realize were there, and therein lies the beauty of writing for me. Sometimes I don't really know what I truly think about something until *boom* there it is, freshly penned from my own mind. Sometimes my best ideas stem from sitting down and free-writing without real thought and then surprise myself as I reread what has just flown from my fingers. So here we go.

The last few days we've had snow - a lot of snow - and while I generally agree that winter and its frigid temperatures are so much more bearable when there is snow, I'm pretty ready for this snow to go away. It's beautiful, but everything stops and shuts down when there's snow and life gets suspended in this snow globe of fear and anticipation of 'snowmageddon'. I've been known to enjoy a snow day or two - especially when I was working in the corporate world and a snow day meant pay without work. It's a very different story when you own your own business though - the snow and fear of icy roads paralyzes people and puts a temporary halt in my month's momentum, and I've got a goal I'm pushing for so it's frustrating! But at the same time I'm thankful for some downtime and I know that if I keep working and keep doing the next right thing I'll still meet my goals. The key is not to let obstacles -especially those out of our control - stop us, but let them make us stronger and better.
I feel like that's true in any aspect of our lives though. Why let the things we cannot control stop us or discourage us? Instead, recognize what can be learned from any given situation and learn it! Let us stop looking at why a situation affects us negatively, and instead look at any obstacle or speed bump and find what good can be found in it. If things were always easy how would we learn? If things were handed to us how could we be truly grateful for our blessings? There cannot be mountains without valleys, and each make the other that much more marvelous.

Today I'm thankful for the valleys in my life and in my business because I know that mountains are sure to follow, and it's those mountains that give us the vantage point of the dazzling bigger picture and allow us to look back at the valleys and truly appreciate them for their beautiful role in our journey.

seasons.

It's funny, we all long for the spring when we're in the frigid dead of winter, and for the crisp coolness of autumn when we're in the dog days of summer, and some of us even say "I'd be happy if it were always spring." I've heard myself say it before, but the more I think on it the more I realize and understand the beauty of seasons. Would we appreciate that crisp autumnal beauty without the lush heat and sun of summer, or the blooming life and new green buds of springtime without the harshness of winter? Probably not nearly as much, it's winter's bite that makes spring's thaw that much more beautiful and welcome, to say nothing of the anticipation of summer as we eye our neglected sandals and sundresses in March, wondering how many more weeks we'll have to wait till they will be worn again. The anticipation makes the arrival of the seasons of warmth and beauty so exciting, and engenders our utmost appreciation.

It's the same in the seasons of life we go through. The trials are paramount to being thankful for the blessings, and indeed, are part of the blessings themselves sometimes. I sit here on a Saturday morning, coffee mug nearly empty beside me and I am thankful for the season in which we find ourselves. It is a season of transition now - that time when the days are whispering and hinting of the coming springtime, but the nights are still firmly rooted in winter's chilly grip. Yesterday was my last day at Montreat; my full-time job is officially over and I am no longer tethered to a computer during the weekdays. Praise God for the springtime that is imminent! But I sit here, just Josie, me and the dog lying at my feet, because Jeremy is still plying away, working hard to continue to provide for us at McDonald's. And praise God for the winter that reminds us of His provision. It is this season, this time and that before it, that will always let us remember and appreciate from where we have come. To remember that the blessings we enjoy are not to be taken for granted -- we must remember the winter, for only in our remembrance can we truly enjoy and bask in the sunshine and verdancy of the springtime that comes after.

And so I sit here, thankful for the winter through which we are navigating and even more so for the warmth of spring and summer for which our course has been set. I revel in His blessings, even in the winter - I will not doubt in the dark, or in the boreal climes, what He has shown us in the light and warmth.

summer on the mountain.