The Joy of January

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The Joy of January

by Sandra Gilmore

There’s a joy in January like no other month.

Have you noticed that January, unlike other months, has its own rhythm? Other months seem to adapt to schedules, wrap around agendas, even become the perfect backdrop for gatherings or community events. Not January. This one-twelfth-of-the-year insists on having its own way.

January can send a pop-up snowstorm in its sleep. It can welcome balmy temps with open arms and then send them packing as though their reservations ran out. January can embrace ice as quickly as a diva dons diamonds.

So how is that joyful?

Not only does this month usher in the start of a new year, January ushers in a cadence that’s unmistakable. Just about the time other voices are steadily and loudly raising cries to get motivated, gear up, and get stuff done, this top-of-the-year month’s message whispers softly like snowfall. And like snowfall, there’s quite enough evidence that it’s on the scene. Snow’s blanket covers a multitude of sins—such as the front flowerbeds that didn’t get weeded or the back deck that didn’t get painted in the busy summer. Snow transforms the landscape into a white canvas perfect for winter colors. There’s the ruby cardinal who flitters about finding both a perch and a provisional morsel. The emerald pines stand stoically with their evergreen branches. With the help of the sun, the snow and ice explode with color, tiny prisms that turn loose grounded rainbows. There’s no doubt, a different season is on the scene.

In past centuries, society went by the Roman calendar which held 10 months, leaving winter or an extended “January” as one season with no delineated months. Romans considered winter a time of peace without deliberate effort in agriculture or war.

In fact, Scripture confirms this slower cadence of January and winter. In the Book of Job, we hear Elihu describing what the Lord set in motion: “He says to the snow, ‘Fall to the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone He has made may know His work, He stops all people from their labor” (Job 37:6-7).

Isaiah connects winter’s snow with the Word of the Lord: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my Word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55: 10-11).

Psalms echoes that same process: “He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? He sends his Word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow” (Psalm 147: 16-18). As January escorts us to another trip around the sun, how will you enjoy this winter? Ecclesiastes declares: “For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Research hints at and even shows several benefits: We sleep better in the colder months (or even in a colder room throughout the year). With better rest, cold temperatures, and a slower pace, our minds yield more creative ideas. We humans tend to postpone decisions or milestones in the summer, so winter could become the season to work through projects or tackle obligations. What will you tackle?

Or maybe, will you simply listen to the snow fall?

About The Author Sandra Gilmore serves the Lord as wife, mom, and encourager, mostly through writing and speaking, occasionally through cooking, rarely through anything athletic and only because of the mercy and grace of Jesus. You can reach her by email: tandsgilmore@yahoo.com or her website www.sandragilmore.org.