@artwatch posted a challenge for artists on Steemit to sketch what they are thankful for, and after this past week, the answer to me was super-clear.
WARMTH. And everything that is associated with it.
As you may have seen in an earlier post, our pump shut down for more than a week because of the bitter cold. This winter is a little nuts in our neck of the woods! But even though the freezing temperatures have cut short our outdoor building projects and given us a little more off-grid practice than we were anticipating, there has been a wild loveliness to coming in from breaking ice in the animals' buckets and standing by the woodstove, feeling warmth rush back into frozen fingers and toes.
Warmth in our home means a lot to me in the winter. I do a lot of cooking atop our woodstove, and every time a piece of wood goes into that stove, I think of my husband, chopping that wood into useable pieces, his hard work turning into comfort for his family. I think of the decades that went into growing that tree in the first place, and how amazing it is that all that energy it drew from the sun is now keeping my home warm. I think of how not-understandeable fire is, and how indescribable the Creator is who came up with it in the first place. I think of the food that is simmering in the pot, and how in a few hours, the people I love most are going to draw around the table and be fed. I think of the water (something I am INCREDIBLY thankful for, after not having active access to it for a while!) boiling in the teakettle, soon to become tea that my husband, son and I will chat over.
It makes me grateful for these cold days--in contrast to the crazy activity of growing and building that happens in the summer on our homestead, winter is a time to draw close, realize that the dark is coming early, and just keep everyone warm and fed until spring finally is back.
Woodstove! What a champ.
Gotta have the cozy blanket, too.
Thanks, @artwatch, for a chance to mull over such blessings! Do any of you all have a woodstove? Isn't it the best thing ever? Let me know in the comments below!
