Always Winter

One of my favorite Christmas songs is not a hymn or even a classic. "In Like a Lion (Always Winter)," a song from the Relient K Christmas CD, instantly appealed to me when I was younger because of the Narnia reference, and the song has only grown on me more throughout the years. You can listen to it here, and below are the lyrics:

"It's always nice to look out the window

And see those very first few flakes of snow

And later on we can go outside

And create the impression of an angel that just fell from the sky

When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes

Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies

And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh

For the green grass waiting on the other side

It's always winter but never Christmas

It seems this curse just can't be lifted

Yet in the midst of all this ice and snow

Our hearts stay warm cause they are filled with hope

It'd be so nice to look out the window

And see the leaves on the trees begin to show

The birds would congregate and sing

A song of birth a song of newer things

The wind would calm and the sun would shine

I'd go outside and I'd squint my eyes

But for now I will simply just withdraw

Sit here and wish for this world to thaw

And everything it changed overnight

This dying world you brought it back to life

And deep inside I felt things

Shifting everything was melting

Away oh away

And you gave us the most beautiful of days

Cause when it's always winter but never Christmas

Sometimes it feels like you're not with us

But deep inside our hearts we know

That you are here and we will not lose hope."

Since I live in the South, I longed for snow to come, but even though the metaphor is not regionally relatable, I knew such feelings from other experiences. We wait, we long, and we get so tired. Nothing on earth can ever fully quench our thirst for excitement, splendor, or joy, for our souls are supposed to orbit around God, not ourselves, our possessions, or the relationships we use to define us. In Christ, we are made right with God and our hearts are transformed, yet even so, we wait. 

There will come a day when the earth is fully redeemed and all is returned to its proper design: everything will be pure joy, untouched by the decay and insufficiency of the world we know now. As we look forward to this hope, it should increase our awareness of the brokenness surrounding us, but we cannot just withdraw; the warmth in our hearts from the gospel must change the way we interact with others and the earth. It is easy to despair, but the coming of Christ assures us that God does keep His promises. As another Christmas ends, let us not move on from rejoicing over the Messiah. Let us continue to celebrate His birth, life, death, and resurrection, and anticipate His second advent, which will melt away the sorrows and struggles of the earth to reveal the fullness of joy forevermore.

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.' And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" - Revelation 21:3-5