It was November. Most of the leaves had fallen off the trees leaving only skinny, gray skeletons in the surrounding mountains. The sky was gray too with overcast clouds dumping down a cold, bone chilling rain. My mood matched the day. I knew that Thanksgiving was coming up soon and then Christmas but after that a long, dark, cold winter would arrive and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

The older I got the less it seemed I liked the winter months. When I was a boy they meant playing in the snow, making snowmen and snow angels, having snowball fights, and then curling up with my dog by the wood stove and reading my favorite books. Now they just meant watching the days get shorter, shoveling snow, driving on dark, slick roads, and feeling the cold wind bite my face every time I went outside.

I sighed and lay down on my bed. A gloom settled over my spirit and I wished I could get under the covers and sleep until Spring. Just then my little dog jumped up on my bed and looked at me with her big, wet eyes. She looked so sad and miserable that I laughed and petted her. “Is that how I look right now?”, I said knowing that she often mirrored my moods. I smiled and continued to pet her head until she too broke into a happy, panting grin. I snuggled up with her, looked up to heaven, and thanked God for this loving, little dog and the reminder she gave me.

She reminded me that in this life the whole world around us is our mirror. We can either be a reflection of light or a shadow of darkness. We can either be a beacon of love or a grayness of gloom. We can either give the world our kindness and joy or our fear and anger. God in His wonderful Love sent my little pup to show me once again that life truly is what we make it and that we can reflect our warmth, love, and light even in Winter’s darkest days