There is always a sense of sadness for me as we finish observing God’s Holy Days for another year. For those of us whom God has called, the winter months can seem bleak and tiresome with the bombardment of the pagan holidays of Halloween, Christmas, New Years, and Easter.

Here in Wisconsin we are reminded of this bleakness as we face the winter weather as well. The farms and gardens are done producing for another year. The weather turns colder and windier. The daylight portion of the day shortens. There is a sense of the year being finished until we see new life and vegetation blooming in the spring.

God had the Bible recorded for us from the perspective of Israel – its location, its rhythm of life, its culture. We can glean much from Scripture if we consider this and miss much if we don’t. Even when it comes to aspects of agriculture, the Bible speaks from a perspective of what would take place in Judea. From a northern hemisphere perspective, the growing season is done for the year, but that is not true in Judea.

In the land of Israel there was still work to be done after the fall harvest and Holy Days. Farmers needed to prepare the fields for the winter planting (the ground there doesn’t freeze solid like it does here in Wisconsin). Equipment needed to be repaired and prepared before the next year’s season. Crops were taken to market, put up for storage, or preserved for future use. Around October/November there were olives and figs to harvest. Mid-winter brought the citrus harvest, and the “late rains” which helped to soften the ground for the spring plantings. Come March/April there was preparation for the barley harvest before Passover.

There is a great spiritual parallel in considering what we should be doing over the winter months. The coming months, while we wait for the spring, are a time to be active, planning and preparing ahead. In light of that, why not use this Sabbath day to make a list of those things you can work on for your spiritual development this winter? Consider…

  - How can I serve the congregation better?

  - What did I learn this past year? What was God teaching me that I should pay more   attention to?

  - What study can I do over the winter to be better prepared for the spring Holy Days?

  - What is my plan to get to know the local members better?

  - What should I be doing to be ready as part of the Bride of Christ?

  - What does God expect me to be doing now?

  - What section of the Bible will I use as my winter reading project?

I encourage you to make the most of this Sabbath day, and each one that follows until we are once again reviewing God’s Holy Days. Let’s do the work we need to be doing while there is time to do it (John 9:4)!