The Gift Of Winter

The Gift Of Winter

 By Paul McCann

When winter  came men were seen wearing donkey jackets and women wore their scarfs . Children had mitten and gloves and the people of Ardoyne faced the cold days together and did what they had to do . Looking at winter from a different perspective there were gifts that the winter brought into our lives and it was time for us to appreciate some of the simple things in our lives , like mist that appeared from our mouths  as the warmth of our breath kissed  the cold air of winter .

A bowl  warm soup that tasted like liquid sunshine on a cold dark winters day and it helped us slip into another place away as we sipped away the moment before the fire , as we felt the love of those around us wrap up the evening in a soft family quilt .

Looking out the window at the frost and snow was like the setting of  a scene in a living fairyland . Hearing the coughs and sneezes , of the whole house was like being part of a musical in winters serenade.

Lying underneath woollen blankets in freezing temperatures was like touching paradise before sleep took us away to dreamtime .

Winter gave us time to reflect on what was the past and allowed us time to discover the future . We always were able to adjust to the changes around us when winter came .Some of the older folk really felt  the cold and suffered  pain in their joints which stoke from them the value of this time of year .

When winter came some of us subconsciously grew an extra skin to help us cope with the challenges that we had to face in the below zero conditions .Every challenge opened new ways to find encouragement and hope . Everyone knew that there would always be an end to the cold .

The snowy path was a lonely path but now and then what a  joy it was to feel a warm hand take you away walking through an icy winters day .There’s nothing like a friend who could make us laugh . Winters chill reminds us of our  need to stay connected with others . As a community the people of Ardoyne faced the winters together . The blizzards came and went and we say salt and grit thrown from trucks to dissolve the hard slush and ice to allow traffic to get through . We saw God’s white letter fall down upon our streets  with a promise of his love to always see us through the coldest of times to a new light of days to come ,  

.