December 17

The thermometer read 1 degree this morning in the darkness well before sunrise. December’s full Cold Moon sat twenty degrees above the horizon to the west, through by comparison to the moon of six months ago it is so noticeably farther southward.

It is tempting to consider most things by comparison, when it seems as though darkness and cold are gaining the upper hand. There is deep snow everywhere now, and we fear that we may not see the lawn again for months.

But beneath the drifts and within the frozen ground lies the dormant seeds of tomorrow’s promise. We must have faith in this knowledge, that though the deep greens of summer’s splendor have now long gone, its fruits lie waiting in this period of quiet.

So too we rest now, taking greater pleasures in the company of home and hearth, secure in our understanding that renewal comes only after slumber.