Six-year-old kids are such marvelous creatures.  Reading the obituary of James Mattioli was like reading a description of my Evan.  The games he plays on the iPad, his love of wearing shorts year round, his obsession with sports, the way he becomes intense with his interests, his love of school.  Emilie Parker was all about pink.  Her family buried her in Utah by her grandfather.  I can visualize her father on TV overwhelmed by the support of his former Utah town.

I am not yet through the list of those killed.  A new year has arrived.  Winter has truly come to Ohio.  Being dedicated to honoring this list and experiencing winter feel very much the same to me.  They both seem never ending.  They both involve feelings I do not like.   I do not really enjoy winter.  I am not a fan of the cold.  Physically, I do not like it.  I prefer to not wear shoes.  Winter does not allow that.   My skin is dry in the winter. Laundry takes more time in the winter…you have more clothes to wash and the loads are bigger…..and the socks….sorting the socks.  Ugh!  The days are shorter.  The weather causes travel worries.  I could go on and on.  However, winter is a time of reflection and meaning.  Winter is a good time to praise and worship.  I am much more aware of the beauty of nature in the winter.  I see God more clearly.  I feel the power of the Holy Spirit more often.  I have more time to ponder God.  Winter teaches me to be patient and to wait.  I pray that the Holy Spirit would work in me and in you.

There is much work to do.   Some days I am not even sure what that work should be.   The world whizzes by us so fast. When events like the Sandy Hook shooting happen, we are quick to blame and quick to act.  Perhaps we need to be aggressively prayerful with an open heart and mind.  Perhaps we need to be patient and listen intently.  Winter is a good time to practice this patience.  Only then will the Holy Spirit move us to the actions God needs us to do.