Through The Many Winters
Oh, wondrous hope that love can bring
Like a shimmering promise only found in the Spring…
But when the shadows reach through the Autumn light
When one constant star can fill the lonely night
CHORUS
Through the many winters,
Your light brings me comfort
Your hope lifts me up and carries me to Spring…
Through all the tears to come
All my many trials
Till the end of my longest night
I will search for you
‘Cause there I find my light. My light.
In the fading hours,
Sea and sky become one
We must sail on, though fearful,
And track one star back home
In my heart I get,
In my search to find
The place where peace and life meet
But trust in heaven’s sign
CHORUS
Through the many winters,
Your light brings me comfort
Your hope lifts me up and carries me to Spring…
For all the tears to come
When I cannot see the heavens
Till the end of my longest hour
Still I’ll search for you
I’ll always find my light.
Always find my light
I’ll always find my light
Find my light
I’ll always search for you
Call me crazy, but I’ve had a secret crush on Michael McDonald for a few years. I love his soulful, husky voice. I love his piercing blue eyes. And I love his white hair (Michael has aged well, wouldn’t you agree?).
I listened to Christmas music today as I got dressed, and I paused when Through The Many Winters started to play. I feel that is one of the most contemplative Christmas songs I’ve ever heard. It’s not about the presents and the parties, but it’s about the inner meaning of Christmas. It’s about peace and hope.
The current series at my church is called “A Hope That Changes Everything.” The premise is that Christ came to bring us hope. Hope of salvation, and the hope to be found in the promises of God. Hope for the future.
Perhaps because of the craziness that is my life, I can really appreciate this song. It acknowledges that dark nights come, and that there are tears and difficulties in in life. But in all of that, we continue to seek the light. In life, as in the Nativity, the light leads us to Jesus.
This year, Christmas finds me dangerously low on hope. Life has not turned out as I’d hoped. I’ve tried to do so many things, pursued so many trails, and they’ve led me to the middle of a dark forest. Every direction looks the same: palpable darkness. I couldn’t even begin to find my way out.
Through the Many Winters speaks of persevering though the darkness, carried along by hope, searching for the light. The light brings comfort. The light brings hope. The light guides us home.
Life is hard. HARD. Horrible things happen. Disaster strikes. The Unknown looms ahead of us. Our best laid plans crumble around us… again and again. As the harsh cold and deep darkness of winter give way to spring, perhaps the hard times will be followed by better days ahead.
The key, though, is to keep searching — in the darkness and the fear and the confusion and the tears — for the light.
