I live in a place where we have four seasons, but they aren’t as evenly distributed as the calender would have us think – winter lasts about five months, rather than three. And the people who live here are divided between those who love winter and those who hate winter. Those who love winter are generally those who greatly enjoy the outdoor sports that winter brings, such as skiing, skating, and snowmobiling.
Those who don’t do outdoor sports tend to be the ones who hate winter, and this blog post is especially for the winter haters. If that’s you, read on:
How To Not Hate Winter:
- Dress warmly. I can’t emphasize this enough. Being chilled through, having your fingers and toes become numb, is miserable. But you don’t have to suffer this condition. Get warm boots, hats, coats, mittens, and scarves. Wear layers! Wear tights or thermals under your pants. Being warm is possible and makes the world of difference. My husband bought me a coat at Costco about eighteen years ago, that I could wear for a walk in – 30 degrees weather and be warm! At that temperature, one needs snow pants as well, which I have, plus a scarf or balaklava to cover one’s face. But I have dressed appropriately for the – 30 degrees weather, and taken an enjoyable walk. Most days aren’t that cold anyway.
- Choose to do some outdoor activity. You might not ski or skate, but you could walk – perhaps find a walking buddy and dress warmly and go out for a walk on a sunny day. We all need the sun, and the winter air is crisp and fresh rather than humid as in the summer. Or take a walk when it’s snowing in the evening with that magical feel. Then come in and have hot chocolate or your preferred hot drink. (Also I recommend making a snowman at least once a season. Yes, even if you have no children to make it with. Trust me, I have done this. It is satisfying. You can do this on your own or with a friend or friends.
- Enjoy an indoor activity. With less time spent outside, now is a good time to pick up/learn a new activity – maybe learn to watercolour or crochet or…the possibilities are endless. This too you can do with a friend. Catch up on reading.
- Remember that the reason we don’t have poisonous snakes and other such creatures is that they can’t survive in this cold! But we can, because we… can dress warmly!!!
- God made winter. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). I don’t think that means we have to love winter, but we would probably do well not to hate it nor complain about it. On a practical note, if you complain about it, it won’t go away; it will still be here. You will just be accentuating your misery, which is not really what God enjoys. There are Bible verses against grumbling/complaining and Bible verses for being thankful. So I would go with that.
- Unless you are in this climate because you have disobeyed God’s direction to be elsewhere (in which case, perhaps it’s time to go wherever God has called you), you are here because God wants you here. So I would put some effort into enjoying it. And keeping that “Be thankful” command.
I hope some of these are helpful. If you have any more ideas about how not to hate winter, please let me know in the comments.
