Too easily are we inclined to
imagine that God created this
world for a purpose. We are so
caught up in purpose that we
would feel more comfortable if
God shared our preoccupation
with work. But God plays. The
birds in a single tree are
sufficient proof that God did not
set out with a divine
no-nonsense attitude to make a
creature that would perfectly
achieve the purpose of a bird.
What could that purpose be I
wonder? There are titmice,
juncos, and chickadees; woodpeckers, gold finches, starlings and crows. The only bird
God never created is the no-nonsense bird. As we open our eyes and hearts to God's
creation, we quickly perceive that God is playful, a God of leisure.
~ from GRATEFULNESS, THE HEART OF PRAYER by Br. David Steindl-Rast
But, for me, winter has an even greater gift to give. It comes when the sky is clear, the sun brilliant, the trees bare, and the first snow yet to come. It is the gift of utter clarity. In winter, one can walk into woods that had been opaque with summer growth only a few months earlier and see the trees clearly singly and together, and see the ground that they are rooted in.
