Whether you have kids or not, and whether you’ve seen the movie or not, by now you’ve heard the song and likely can’t get it out of your head! That’s right…you guessed it!

“Let it go, let it go!
Can’t hold it back any more.
Let it go, let it go!
Turn away and slam the door.
I don’t care what they’re going to say.
Let the storm rage on.
The cold never bothered me anyway!”

I have to admit I haven’t seen the movie yet! 😦 I know! I’m like the only person left who hasn’t seen it, and I even have kids!!! So I have no good excuse, but it’s on my agenda. Even without seeing the movie, the song has been everywhere, and I love it! It’s a beautiful song, sung by a woman with a power house voice. The kind of voice we all pretend we have when we sing alone in the car or the shower or wherever no one can hear us and call animal control to come save the dying cat! 🙂 But the song is so much more than just catchy and beautiful. It’s deep. It’s empowering. It’s powerful. It goes against the grain of the typical disney princess theme song. And it’s so fitting for my life right now. I really think no matter what is going on, this song can apply to something in everyone’s life.

I’ve always loved the cold. I love all the seasons; but there’s something magical and special about the colder ones. Maybe it’s just the wonderful holidays that happen in the colder months and all the lights, music and cheer that come along with them. Maybe it’s the layers, boots, and scarves that get added to our wardrobes. Maybe it’s the pumpkin spice lattes and hot chocolates we get to drink. I’m not sure what it is; but I do know I always look forward to the cold.
Now, call me weird, but as I look at my life, this same “cold weather” idea fits a lot of it.

Over the 28 years I’ve been living on this side of heaven, I seem to have had my fair share of winters and cold weather seasons. I’m not going to go into the details of each of those right here, but there’s been all kinds of cold. The kind that comes just because it’s that time of the year and it’s time for the seasons to change; the kind you dread because even though you like the cold, sometimes it can just become too much; the kind you want a vacation from; the kind that reminds you of everything good in this life; the kind you created or chose yourself by traveling into it…either on purpose or because you got lost and ended up there on accident; the mild, fallish cold that makes you want to just grab a sweater and stay out in it, playing in the leaves forever; the kind of cold that hurts your bones just thinking about it and all you want is spring to come so you can feel your insides again. I’ve had them all.

I find it interesting that of all the seasons, winter is the most complicated. It simply takes more effort to remain comfortable in our everyday life. We have to wear more clothes, leave earlier for work to defrost our cars, shovel the driveway if we’re lucky enough to experience snow, and let’s not forget the time It takes to complain about how cold it is and how much we can’t wait til summer. (But then summer comes and we spend the whole thing complaining about how hot we are and how we can’t wait to not be sweating just because we existed that day. You know the deal.) The same complicated nature of the actual winter seasons applies to the theoretical wintery seasons of life. But what I’ve learned about myself over the years is, I enjoy the cold!

Now this isn’t necessarily a great thing about me. It just is what it is. I seem to seek out cold seasons somehow; at least I have up until recently. I not only look forward to the challenges these cold seasons bring, but I apparently actively seek them out. I’m a social worker for goodness sake! I’m the type that if it’s not cold where I’m living, I travel somewhere chilly just because it makes me feel more comfortable and I enjoy trying to warm everyone else up, even if I forgot my own coat. Or at least It’s felt that way at times. This hasn’t necessarily always been a conscious thing I’ve done.  It’s more of a learned thing and a survival tactic I’ve used to protect myself, odd as that sounds.

Think about it with me for a moment….

The winter gives us more safety and protection (kind of). There’s more layers to hide behind, there’s more ways to try to snuggle in and get cozy with different comfort items, and it’s easier to focus on others and how to help keep warm and cozy, even if you’re still frozen. In the warm months you’re more exposed. There’s less clothing, less baggage, less effort to just live daily life. It’s easier. You may sweat a lot, and your insecure areas may be more obvious to people, but that just comes with the season. Now there’s all kinds of metaphors and anecdotes I could go into when I think about the contrast of summer and winter and the various issues each season brings. But I’m going to save that for another day. The point is, I find myself drawn to the more complicated, more trying, less care free “seasons” of life. That or they’re attracted to me like a fly on you know what! 

It’s interesting that this is the first week of spring as its been one of the “coldest” weeks I’ve had in my entire life. But this season of cold has been very different than some of the others because while it’s been long and extremely difficult, and though its nowhere near over, it is teaching me how to be a cold weather warrior. I’m learning how to not just survive the cold, but thrive in it. Interestingly enough, I’m also learning that I’m kind of getting tired of living in cold weather. I’m ready for spring. And not just because I’m sick of dealing with the cold, but because I no longer need all the complicated layers it brings. I’m finally ready for the spring and the lighter, freer, more exposed way of life it welcomes.

Life is full of seasons; some pleasant, some not so pleasant. Mother nature has been in menopause for me here lately but I can appreciate what she’s doing. Although spring is here and I’m ready and excited for it, winter isn’t totally over. There’s still a lot of cold days ahead; and even through the warmer months, I know there will be chilly days thrown in there. Today, I can appreciate each season, no matter how cold or how warm it may be, and i can learn whatever it is God is teaching me through it. Luckily, though I’m in a wintery season still, God made me a cold weather warrior. So as she sings in that powerful, beautiful song,

“It’s funny how some distance,
makes everything seem small.
And the fears that once controlled me, can’t get to me at all
It’s time to see what I can do,
to test the limits and break through.
No right, no wrong, no rules for me.
I’m free…”

It’s time for me to give it all to God and to truly LET IT GO!
So…

“Let the storm rage on…. THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAY!” 🙂

Food for thought:
“What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” John Steinbeck

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” Ecclesiastes 3:1