Glorious oranges in the depths of January, fill my mouth. They taste like Florida warmth in the coldest Georgia days on record in six years. Ever since our CSA farm delivery included them (from Florida, so they must be trucked in) I have been obsessed with them. I am not alone - my husband and son gobble them down just as quickly. There is something mesmerizing about the pure citrus bursting through the green-only vegetables of winter.  It is a small hint that winter will eventually roll into spring and summer, bringing fruit along. 

When the forecast dips into the teens and single digits overnight, I find myself wondering how the vegetables on "our" farm will fare. With our CSA membership, I feel far more conscious of nature's capriciousness, and how enmeshed our food is in its unpredictability.

The January freeze in Georgia means not enough is harvested for our delivery share the coming week. We have the luxury of replacing those foods with store bought items. I cannot help but think about how the foods that had come to sustain us had not survived. Yet, I also know the fruits and vegetables will arrive again. 

We live into God's creation each day, into its periods of death, and its periods of rebirth. Eventually, a tentative spring arrives - a delicate dance as nature moves out of winter toward new growth. I am reminded that God walks through the frozen, seemingly dead times, so he can lead us, always, to rebirth. 

~ Leigh Berger Serrie is married with one son. She teaches part time at Kaplan University in the Department of Communication. She and her family have been active members of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church since 2005.

              

"He made the moon for appointed times; the sun knows it's going down."  Psalms 104:19
"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The appointed times of Elohim, which you are to proclaim as set-apart gatherings, my appointed times are these....'"  Leviticus 23:2