Inside It Is Safe And Warm

As the harshness of winter now chills me to the bone, I reminisce of days of old. Days when layer upon layer of layer of clothing, prepared us for the long walk to the schoolhouse. Even now, I remember mornings when the layers were so many I could hardly walk, but there was no way we would be cold, mama made sure.

Staring out the window now, I see the rustling of the trees as that northern wind blows its way into my little southern town. Even the tiny snowflakes that are hard to see make me fondly remember days of snowball fights and snowman building. How often now I long for the laughter that once filled the air as the entire neighborhood would sled down the road that ran beside our house.

Walking across the floor, I sit and stare into the fire in the fireplace, remembering the sweet smell emanating through the home as daddy would stoke the fire in that old wood stove. Sometimes if I deeply inhale, I even remember that almost toxic, but deeply warming smell when he would toss a couple of large chunks of coal on the fire for those coldest of nights.

Many a time I remember running into the house, standing in front of that old stove until you thought you had caught the seat of your pants on fire. No matter how cold the temperatures outside, you always knew that inside was safe and warm. The warmer you became the more of those outer layers we would remove, until finally we could move freely again.

Even now, I view the rays of the sun shining down through the trees, like fingers they reach through the clouds, one by one. Where each ray hits the ground there is a sparkle from the ice that hangs upon each blade of grass. Suddenly I am reminded, when God reaches down, it never matters how cold or dark, or how far we have strayed from the warmth and security of home. He is always standing there with a fire that will warm us to our very soul.

Just like returning home on a cold winter day, there is comfort in Him and if we will just lay our burdens at The Cross, He will remove them from our backs and we can truly be free again. Just like childhood when mama and daddy would tell us to come inside where it is safe and warm, Jesus is telling us all to come to The Father where there is peace, and inside it is always safe and warm.