During the Christmas Season, there is a song we sometimes sing, “In The Bleak Midwinter.”  Sometimes might be an overstatement.  I’m sure that many churches never get around to it. And many people would be quite happy not to have to sing it. “In The Bleak Midwinter” does not sound like a “regular” Christmas song.  It is not peppy and upbeat.  I’m no music major - I think it is written in a minor key - which means it sounds somber and subdued. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th verses speak to Christmas ideas, but first, there is verse 1. “In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, in the bleak midwinter, long ago.”  Like I said, not very peppy or upbeat.
 
Honestly, “In The Bleak Midwinter” (verse 1) is what it has been feeling like to me recently.  In between the Christmas season, Lent, and Easter, with no big celebration or direction AND all the cold, ice, and snow over and over, it can feel pretty bleak. But as the song reminds us - bleak as it might seem - God is STILL overall.  Meaning, no matter how cold, dark, and lifeless life might seem sometimes, God can always be found.  And, if February is going well for you; if you are not feeling stuck “in between,” God is probably all the easier to find; if you will look. 
 
Here’s the thing, whether there is some big event that we are getting ready for, looking forward to, living out, reflecting on, or not - God wants you to be connected to him.  That’s why Jesus came.  That gift, that connection, can sustain you in any circumstance; even February.
 
Grace, Mercy, and Peace,
Pastor Blaine