In Winter Ordinary Time

This Winter Ordinary Time between Epiphany (or the end of Christmas) and Ash Wednesday, I believe is a time of invitation. An invitation to be, to ponder, and to evaluate. 

The invitation to be is an opportunity to incorporate time of rest, time of not needing to produce. It is a time of simply being present to the day and what comes. Noticing winter in its glory and fullness. Noting how we are in this time and being present to the opportunity to dare I say, slow down, like the earth’s current state. In the ordinary time of winter to be is to breathe, is to pause, is to ponder.

The invitation to ponder is powerful in these winter weeks. To watch the night transition to day is a moment of ponder. It is one of the invitations to ponder life, to take note of where one is and how one is in this season. It is a time to ponder where and how one is connecting with God and what God is inviting one to see and hear. The ordinary time of winter is invitation to ponder life and how we are, and what are our desires are for the next seasons and to evaluate the journey.

The invitation to evaluate is not about resolutions or goal setting. It is rather about reflecting and noticing one’s gifts. To evaluate is to count the blessings on the journey and what one is looking forward to in the weeks ahead. In evaluating we may notice areas in ourselves which need healing or recall a listening ear or see the changes we have made. We may notice how God is seeking our heart and walking with us as we evaluate how best we can reflect the goodness of God in our life. To evaluate is to celebrate, is to trust, is to give thanks. It is to acknowledge God at work in our life.

May these weeks of Winter Ordinary Time be filled with invitations. May we offer these invitations to others. May we trust God, the great inviter and host, is present. These winter weeks are not the hustle and bustle of holiday time, and they are not the penance of Lent, they are invitation. Let us be attentive!

God,

You who are present in all the seasons of our life,

during this season of Winter Ordinary Time

may we listen to your invitations

to be, to ponder and to evaluate.

In doing so, may we notice 

where you are at work in life,

where you are present and

what you are calling out of us 

and calling us to be. 

May these Winter Ordinary Time days,

be a time of rich awareness,

as we journey with you

paying heed to your personal 

and life-giving invitations.

Amen.

Photo Credit:  Yaron Cohen