Winter is a season that, if we are being honest, can get lost in the hurry of the holidays and wish away even as we tire of the wintery weather, anticipating the warmth of spring. The world around us lay dormant, even the sight of death and dread, so what significance could winter bring?

The winter is a reminder that we of course can’t be in motion all the time. True progress often requires stepping back, stepping away, or even sitting down.

Though hard to do in a season of hurry, moments of rest let us reflect on learnings from the year past and recharge for what is to come.

Let’s think of a garden. It is essential for a garden to have a season of rest. How the soil needs a break in order to replenish its nutrients and become rich enough to nurture growth in its seasons to come.

Joanna Gaines said, “I grew to learn that the promise of harvest begins with this pause in nature's pace.”

We like the garden too, were made to work, to produce, to bear fruit. Some of us come alive when busy, when checking boxes off our list. And, in a world that often feels like it runs on efficiency and is driven by results, this all makes sense.

But like a garden, we too, need rest– true deep, meaningful, deep, nurturing rest.

Dear friend, know the months of barrenness will not be wasted, that they will not return void. What if we become people who appreciate the beauty in the season of rest.

How it readies the soil for what is to come and how our own moments of quiet will do the same for us. Even if just for a breath or two.