I’ve been pondering this “Beauty of Winter” topic for weeks. What’s there to write about? I’ve wondered. We don’t have snow here in Georgia, except for a rare ice storm maybe once every couple of years. Then our schools close, and we send our kids out to play in an inch of quickly melting snow flurries.

In fact, it irked me all last month when I kept having to hear “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” and “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” over and over on the radio; we never have “treetops glistening and children listening to hear sleighbells in the snow” around here.

A few years ago, my husband took a research position at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Now there was a beautiful winter! We rented an old Victorian house in the downtown area, and a white blanket of snow covered the ground for weeks at a time. My neighbors loaned us a sleigh, and I spent many happy hours pulling my toddler-age son around our backyard.

Since I had few friends, I kept myself occupied by exploring for hours every day in this British-built dreamland. It was about 20 blocks from our house to the city library, and beyond that, only a few more blocks to the icy Atlantic sea. I loaded up my double stroller with my son and infant daughter, and we were off. Watching grand ships dock into a snowy harbor — now that was beauty!

But God has been speaking to my heart lately about seeking Him first to discover the quiet treasures of joy. Maybe it’s these writing carnivals; maybe it’s blogging. I don’t know! But I’m on a mission to dig deeper into what matters most in life — and to uncover and share it.

Last week, as I walked alone to our mailbox — the same old hum-drum thing I do every day — I said a prayer. Lord, please help me find some joy today. Forgive me for complaining in my heart so much. I want to find something to praise you for today. I know — that seems like a shallow prayer. But after I prayed, I felt lighter inside.

We don’t have snow to rejoice in, but we have plenty of sun, and it seemed to spread its warmth on me at that moment. The air smelled a bit sweeter. I looked over and noticed my neighbor’s horses frolicking in the crisp wind.

And then I heard something. Could it be? No! But it was. I heard the sound of clippity-clopping horse hooves. And jingle bells. The sound of jingle bells! I stood spellbound, as an honest-to-goodness team of horses pulling a wooden cart came prancing down my street. Four men sat atop this cart and stopped in front of my mailbox while I admired their rig.

“You’ve got to come back!” I told them. “I’ve got a bunch of kids in my house. They’ve got to see this. I can’t believe it!”

“We’ll turn around and come back,” the driver told me. “You bring those kids down here, and we’ll give ’em a ride.”

So I did. And they did. They came back to my house and picked up my three older children and gave them the ride of their lives. All around our gravel driveway — twice! I can tell you, my heart was leaping! The sound of jingle bells, the clopping of horse hooves, and three kids bouncing along into the new year etching a happy memory into their hearts.

That was winter beauty for me. And I think God allowed me to see that only after I’d prayed. Because after they left, after it was over, I had nothing to do but stand there and praise Him. Thank you for horses, Lord! Thank you for children, thank you for jingle bells, thank you for sunny winters, thank you for JOY!

(by heather lynn ivester)