When Life Is Cold

Posted byGary FultzPosted inabundant life, accomplishment, adventure, Build Faith, cold, Dangerous snow conditions, deadly spiritual perspective, deception, devotional, devotional thoughts, end of life, eternal, Faith, frost, Gary Fultz, God in Nature, Inner Peace, Nature, Nature and Inner Peace, nature pictures, outdoor scenery, outdoor spiritual truths, Peace, perspective, Photography, purpose of life, quality of life, relationship with God, snow conditions, winter, Winter preparedTags:, , , , , , ,

I am reminded how cold life can get. Four recent funerals came and went between friends and family and a couple more will come soon. We all die, and I ask myself how much I have really lived. How much am I really living now?? Maybe that’s not even a good question. How warm are my relationships with family, friends and God? This might be a better question.

I thought the question was worth a post with some cold pictures weather wise. One should have a warm heart otherwise. What or who makes your heart warm? Will that warmth last forever? We were created for that forever kind of warmth. Something way beyond our imagination (my thoughts as I sit with a grieving friend).

Currently the lakes are frozen, and the migrating birds are gone. For us it’s winter. Our snow might last somewhere between mid-march… to almost May 2025. Occasionally we get a January thaw as a teaser for a couple weeks to lure the retired folks back from a beach somewhere.

I took a few pictures to share in case you might want a winter vacation this way. I think we have a great place to enjoy as long as you bring some warm clothes and love some crisp air…click on one to enlarge into slide show.

“I’m missing my wife’s presence” said my friend as we shared coffee in his house. “Thanks for the firewood. I had no time to get ready for winter while caring for her.”

We just sat and warmed up after unloading firewood. “I don’t know how people make it through hard times in life without God” said my friend. “Life can be cold”…I agreed. “She just changed clothes. She exchanged her mortal for the immortal model….sigh”

Gary

Published by Gary Fultz

Outdoors Man, Hunter, Fisherman, Guide, Writer / Author, Photographer, Public Speaker, Musician, Song Writer, Story Teller, Follower Of Jesus. Love God and family and total strangers

73 thoughts on “When Life Is Cold”

    1. Oh yes…, big tec is lacking in so many ways…It’s a serious need for people to help each other, David. It is good that we do that here as people can get quite vulnerable quickly in these more remote areas with harsh winters. We have several people who are available to cut firewood or supply what is needed when hardship comes.

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  4. Gary, thank you, this piece and your beautiful photos warmed my heart in ways you might never imagine. When funerals and hurting family and friends weigh heavy on our hearts, we need Gary Fultzs in our lives. So on the tails of Thanksgiving (and as we head into Advent) I’m thanking God for friends like you.
    And what are the odds this post from a year ago would reappear from readers in my notifications? Thank you for this too:
    https://www.debfarris.com/faithful-companions-this-advent-joy-and-peace/

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    1. Thanks Deb, and those are crazy odds, but the links somehow did their job. I had to look up that blue jay picture, I think that jay was partially responsible for the idea of using bird seed in the outdoor Christmas tree so I would have to find all the ornaments. You have a very nice post to keep readers coming for this season.

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  6. Grieving over death is part of living here. We can’t yet see God’s Big Picture. I think He rejoices (Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Ps 116.15) in some respects, while He grieves with us. I know we will rejoice when we’re with Him forever.

    Photos: Wow, what a moon!

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    1. Yes, someday we will be “big picture” people…I know all this in my head. It’s always hard though. The knowing is quite a buffer compared to those with no hope I’m quite sure.

      Thanks Kathy….yes, loved that moon

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  9. Thanks for all the great winter shots, Gary, and a reminder of what real cold really is. I gripe about our six month double summer down here in Texas. I kept waiting for fall to start far into November. It finally did then a few days ago it was back into the mid-eighties again. But I think the double summer is finally dead now…

    In your case it looks like a double winter. Whatever these terms may mean in the spiritual vernacular we know life is an endurance and survival contest in which we are allowed some good times to assist us in our travels. Insightful people figure the deeper stuff out early in life and realize this life is a mere temporary illusion of sorts with ongoing reality bites moments. This also proves it’s a test. For those who never face any serious tests or experience the worst life has to offer I wonder about their eternal destination.

    No matter how tough we are or how much we try or how much we fight we know we will eventually lose because we’re all gonna die. That’s a sad tale and one that has always invoked much fear for most. Again, insightful people probably figure this out early on also but put it aside because it’s not necessarily something to dwell on. But we sure better prepare for it.

    When we first hear the real Gospel message and it comes packed with a wallop we realize there is an answer for all this sad tale stuff. We learn that there was once a Man that actually did defeat death and it’s all documented very clearly. We also learn that we’re still gonna die physically as He did but will also RISE again one day as He did and that gives us great hope. At that point we understand physical death is no longer necessarily a defeat but can be a Great Victory if one prepares correctly.

    The old Pentecostals many years ago used to have “shoutin’ funerals” with everyone rejoicing at the dead one’s graduation to heaven. I think such people get the big idea that, yeah, it’s sad our loved one is gone, but it’s great that they’re home with the Lord—if they prepared correctly. This probably explains why many funerals are not the shoutin’ kind because the decedent probably did not prepare correctly. That’s the real sad tale—that one was blessed with a great opportunity by One who died in our place and then squandered it royally.

    Insightful people thus realize that this temporary life is an opportunity to get right with God and then work for Him to the best of our ability as long as we can before physical death comes calling and is the way to turn an otherwise sad tale into a Great Victory.

    Thank you for the message here and for being there for your friends to help them sort it out. I’m sure you had some insightful words or at least an insightful presence to comfort them.

    Blessings to you brother

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    1. Thanks RJ. Yes, being prepared is so much more important than all the “urgent” things of immediate life. My friend summed up my visit very well. “I am just happy to have another presence in the house when someone visits. It’s new to me, and hard to be alone.

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      1. True, when we’re busy, a little “alone time” is a welcome break. We don’t realize that always alone, day after day, is a completely different thing. And again, how do the non-believers deal with it? When I’m alone, even for a long time, I realize that as a believer I’m never really alone.

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  10. Timing, they say, is everything. What a blessing to come across your post as my final read for the night. I will take your beautiful message with me as I drift off to sleep. God’s many blessings on you and yours, Gary, every day in every way. 🙏🏼

    “I don’t know how people make it through hard times in life without God.” Neither do I. 😊

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  11. Praying for you, Gary, and for your friend missing his wife. And for everyone missing loved ones. The wonderful truth that we will see our loved ones again who are believers and be with them forever helps us every day. Jesus/Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew) is the only One Who gets us through and helps us and gives blessings such as family and friends to help us each step of the way.

    Knowing that life on earth is short and no one knows how long they have before it’s too late, I’ve been trying to let people know about the wonderful gift of salvation so that they will have eternity with Him. Words cannot describe the peace I have and thankfulness I have that Jesus/Yeshua saved me and that He did it all, because only He can. All I had to do was believe in Him, that He is the only Way, that He died on the cross and rose again on the third day, and ask Him to forgive my sins and He did forever.

    “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

    “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9

    “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

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    1. Thanks Chaya, you get it. My friend as well as the ones I didn’t mentioned, all know Jesus. What a great hope we have in our God. I am glad you share the Gospel; many do not know what to say.

      I have also found in the blogging world that I’m OK with making a blog with a lot of holes in it (thought wise) as so many readers fill in the blanks better than I could in the comments section…thanks (I even got a phone call from this post).

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    1. I know about that comfort in the grief Anna. There is an irony that God gives. In all this temporal sadness, he gives peace, comfort and hope when we trust him. It’s a downright miracle because it’s sure not natural.

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  13. I’m sorry, Gary. For your neighbor and friend and for all of you.

    Like you and so many others, I don’t know how people get through life without Christ. Gary, thank you for being a good friend to your friend, for provided God’s warmth through your authentic and real words. For being a friend to all of us. It’s as if we can all sit around the fire and share about all the things of life we encounter–from the goodness to the grief. God’s comfort and peace is what I’ll pray for your friend, for you and your family through your losses, and all who endure anxiety in a world that doesn’t want us to hang our hat on hope. God’s comfort is hard for my feeble brain to comprehend; yet, I’m so grateful to know his peace. Gary, your pictures are always stunning. They allow us into your “neck of the woods” –where we can enjoy the beautiful creation and put our Creator first in everything.

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    1. I do think in terms of communication around the campfire Karla. That “come alongside conversation starter” type of post in a friendly atmosphere. It’s good to know so many people, even in a peripheral way that support one another…people like you who have a great network around the world. And you also realize that you do not take a back seat to anyone on the photography end of things

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  14. Yes, Gary, life is cold, hard and unyielding in moments of grief, between the seasons. Thank you for your beautiful words and photos. I think of life as a painting, and death is like the frame around it. What is enclosed within the boundaries of that frame, is precious, so what we paint by faith in the middle of the gift God has given us is what matters most of all.

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  15. I’m sorry for all of those losses in your family and friends, but for those of us who know the Savior, those are truly gains, aren’t they? I agree I don’t know how folks get through the coldness this mortal life can bring without our Lord to warm our hearts and souls. He is our Source! Your photos are simply beautiful; thank you for sharing them with us.

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  17. I feel your melancholy and am sending love and prayers your way. I think the most challenging part of getting older is experiencing loss and still keeping the joy of the Lord in our hearts. It’s an up and down journey. Thank you for sharing your feelings.

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    1. Thanks Debbie. I will admit the joy of the Lord leaks a bit or at least changes form. Peace inside gets deeper and sticks around. I am one of those who fights a mild winter depression each year and also recognize when it’s at the gate. Thankfully the Lord gives us a lot of tools as well as his presence for these things. Up and down journey is a good description of life on many fronts on this earth.

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    1. I remember saying to a young man who seemed to have lost any hope for living “you need God”. He perked up and said right back “I think you are right! How do I do that”? We talked…he prayed. He became a changed man (Wow this was over 30 years ago. one of my forgotten memories).

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      3. So true Ann. He was very ready. I was ready. I received a very late night call from a teenager (my Youth For Christ years) to come down to the local radio station. HIs friend, who was a popular late night DJ. was in crisis. Ended up I introduced him to the Lord between songs on the radio. A strange-fun-no sleep night. Way more to the story…

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  19. Pingback: When Life Is Cold – QuietMomentsWithGod

  20. Your pictures are stunning, Gary. But your contrast between warm and cold is really moving. I love your question, “How warm are my relationships with family, friends and God?” Wow! Sending thoughts and prayers as you warm so many lives around you, even through grief!

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    1. Thanks Wynn. No matter where one looks it’s a winter wonderland but lately a cold one. It is insightful to me when I think of my relationships from a different arena. To be more relational rather than transactional with people makes one a much warmer person to everyone

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    1. Thanks Mary Ann. There is never a god time to lose one’s Father. I still hear dads voice in the shop and moms from the kitchen sometimes…I have good memories and part of my heart will never heal till I see them again with our heavenly Father.

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  28. Hi Gary. Hope all is well. I wanted you to know I had to take down my latest post which you read and liked (Part 2) because I am having a problem with no traffic. Can you please tell me how you were notified of that post? Thanks

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    1. I was notified by email RJ. when someone I follow hits the publish button, I get an email to click on to view the blog. Because I am usually behind by 100 or so emails, I usually get to it in the next week or less. I am only in the 5% category of people who prefer to be notified by email. Most follows want to be notified by Word Reader. I can’t speak for how those people arrive at a post or if they just view a short blurb and go on.

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      1. Thanks Gary. I appreciate it and thank you for being a consistent long term reader. I was able to recently upgrade my site back to where I was for many years with my own domain and things apparently have yet to set correctly. It is apparent, though, that some readers are not being notified as one just told me. It is awkward reaching out like this and is why I have only contacted a few. I have been in a few dialogues with WP with no answers yet. We’ll see. Thanks again

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    1. thanks Stacy. It’s always good to have leanable friends. I guess it’s a friendship lifestyle. God developing his culture in us to affect the world’s culture around us, is how I see it.

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  31. We do best to never take a moment for granted because we just don’t know when God will call us home. And boy does my heart ache for those who don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Prayer, sharing the Gospel message, discipleship, etc can truly make an eternal difference when we choose to offer those things to a hurting and dying world.

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    1. you sure put your finger on the solution and problem Alicia. If we dont hurt over all those dead to a relationship with God, then we are not letting God grow and use us. The news media constantly reminds me of the “cold” out there.

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