The other day, I took some frozen strawberries out of my freezer—lush, red heart-shaped orbs crystallized in ice for their protection—and I washed them in warm water to help them thaw. After I placed them in a bowl, they started changing any lingering water on their surfaces into ice. They were so accustomed to their harsh environment that it had seeped into their core, until they would turn anything they touched into ice, like themselves, communicating what was inside.
And it made me think of people. Some people are like that, frozen to the core, and they do their best to make everyone else cold and hard, too. Even if they’re removed from the circumstances that made them what they are, they will keep propagating those circumstances, their heart emanating only what they know…even if what they know has hurt them and locked them in place for years.
But what if we change that? What if, instead of passing on prejudice and pain, we recreated a world of joy, and hope, and light? What if those who touched us came away stronger and better for the experience? What if we could reverse the process, and be bearers of all the good of life, harbingers of a bright future instead of a dark past?
He came to give new hearts and spirits to the cold and the despairing.
He came to end the winter of our souls.
Ted Schroder, “Aslan is on the Move”Copyright 2014 Andrea Lundgren
Andrea Lundgren 