My husband bought me a pair of binoculars for Christmas so I could watch the birds out my window. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep them. I didn’t think I’d use them enough and didn’t want his gift to go to waste.

And then I tried them and saw robins, bluejays, cardinals, hawks, sparrows, chickadees, doves, and more. I watched them for hours. Perched on branches, nibbling bittersweet berries, eating freshly fallen snow, puffing up their feathers, basking in the sunlight.

The Gift Binoculars Gave Me

I saw deep into the woods and discovered a real worldwide web. Trees and vines woven together by time, providing a haven handmade by nature where the birdies can rest. I saw a glistening stream that runs off the Ten Mile river, trickling gently along the forest floor. I saw a white-bellied squirrel with his fluffy tail folded over his back like a blanket, a scrawny, lone coyote in search of food, and a big black cat slinking over fallen trees.

I was hooked.

Seeing these critters just doing their thing, not griping about the cold or wishing winter away, made me realize that we can do the same.

We can embrace this season and the opportunity it presents: a time to rest, lie fallow, and ready ourselves for spring.