Re-knowing

We have prepped the land for winter, put the yard to rest, the beds to fallow, the wood box full.  The lake is being drawn down to winter pool, bucks rut in our front yard, the geese are forming up and moving out, and fire is kindled in our iron stove.  Wool, fleece, and flannel are brought out, heavy blankets, and heavier fogs and our star is now setting west by southwest at half-past five.  Winter is seeping in, its frigid soft fingers stretching out from the north to hold us quietly for its season.  She wraps my lover around me, a holding time where in the middle of the night one can smile at how kind God is for making her 98.6°.  Winter is the season of miracles like that.  Fire, warmth, softness are all gifts of winter, a season perfect for Thanksgiving and for re-knowing; “For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given…”