What is it about the long winter days of January that call me into the kitchen? I do find something quite comforting about spending time in the kitchen, baking and cooking up wonderful things for my family to enjoy.  

Recently I enjoyed an outing with some of my dear friends to a local Greek restaurant.  It was a lovely way to spend a drizzly, rainy day in January.  

If you are a local to the Post Falls area, most likely you will recognize this restaurant for its incredibly good food... that is FULL of garlic! Oh yes, this restaurant specializes in all things garlic... and they have a reputation in the community for their amazing food!

 Here we are, friends! We've made it into 2021, and 2020 is now truly a year that is in hindsight.  How thankful I am for the many mercies and love of the Lord on our family throughout the past year, as He always has.  And whatever this year holds before us, I look into this year through a "glass darkly" yet with complete faith and trust that the Lord's provision will be sufficient, no matter what our earthly circumstances or political stage looks like.

When I walk each morning, it gives me a chance to spend time in the Lord's creation, and to bask in the beauty of His world.  There is something so comforting about looking upward to the skies, and to the horizon beyond me, and to the world in front of me, and to realize that our Lord does ALL THINGS WELL.  It is in those times of walking with Him, praying, and spending time in the Word in the morning before I leave, that I find the strength, peace, and joy to carry on with each day He has given me breath to enjoy. 

As so often is the case, here in north Idaho, January can be a very foggy, gray month.  The fog hangs low and thick, and the horizon often may not stretch much farther than the breath you breathe.  And it can seem in those gray, foggy days that the skies, mountains, and familiar horizons have forever disappeared into the mists that surround your present being.  Yet, in our heart's mind, we know those familiar landmarks are there, even when they cannot be seen. Soon though, in its own time, the sun will break through the clouds, and shine its light onto the world, illuminating clearly that which could not be seen just moments (or days) before.  

The reality is that the sun is always shining, 

up above the clouds, 

and it is just the clouds obstructing the sun's rays 

that prevent the light from shining.  

The mountains have not moved, the horizon has not changed, nor has the forest disappeared from sight.  It just takes the sunshine to bring back into focus what we knew was there all along. 

Just as it is at night too... many times in the darkness of the hour, it is hard to believe the reality of what we know to be true.  Sometimes the darkness can cause us to doubt what we know.  Yet... without fail, the dawning of the day always comes, and sunlight floods into the darkness, and truth is made known. 

January Fog