He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting.  Psalm 104:18

I’ve lived in Illinois my entire life thus far, and have no plans to change that. One advantage of living in the Midwest (according to my wife Tammy) is that we get to experience all four seasons – spring, summer, fall and winter. If I had my choice however, I would leave it at summer and call it a day. San Diego’s climate sounds good to me, but I remember a team member who absolutely loves the winters in Minnesota, which are even worse than Illinois.
Tammy tries to talk me through the winter. She’ll tell me that in December we have the holiday season, so it will go quickly.  We also have the shortest day of the year, so the days will begin to get longer.  February is a short month, and when we get to March, we are already starting to see signs of spring. So, it is really just January and February that we have to deal with. She’s good, but it doesn’t work.
Our church small group is comprised of people who are mostly our age. Over the past few years we have had several friends from our small group that have moved to warmer climates after retirement. I can’t blame them, winter can be brutal here. But, with family members and our church here, I don’t see us moving. But I’m still not a fan of winter.
There are many things I love about the other seasons. For example, while a day with the temperatures in the 40’s would be considered cold in the summer or early fall, in spring it feels great. It is a sign that the long, cold winter is ending. We start to see the bulbs planted in our gardens breaking through the dirt, buds on the trees and farmers planting their fields. In summer, it stays light until nearly 9:00 pm. I wear shorts and t-shirts, write outside, work in the yard and enjoy golf. In the fall, we enjoy fall festivals and the beautiful colors of the leaves.
But winter is different. In the Midwest, it gets bitter cold, especially when the wind blows, which is often. We get snow and even worse, freezing rain and ice. And it is dark by 5:00 pm.
When I walk our dog Molly, I have to get all bundled up, many times including a ski mask. But Molly doesn’t mind at all. As an Alaskan Malamute, she’s bred for this weather. Actually, she’s hot at any temperature above 60.
You might ask, if you hate winter so much, why don’t you move? That’s a fair question. And my answer is that as much as I dislike winter, this is home. This is where family is. This is where our church home of 24 years is. This is where our friends are and where Tammy and I have made so many memories through more than 38 years of marriage.
Yes, I dislike winter a lot.  But I know that God has ordained the seasons for us to enjoy, and that’s good enough for me.

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. Genesis 8:22

What is your favorite season? Are you a fan of winter?