Brumal

 

Daily Gratitude Year 13 - Day 18: Today, I am grateful for a new winter word… brumal.

Part of bringing a new lens to winter is finding new words to frame it.  Brumal is another winter word I have not developed in my lexicon until today.  Brumal is an adjective. It is one letter different from brutal, but it is not a synonym  Brumal means “all things wintery.”

Brumal is not negative or positive as much as it is seasonal  Yes, a brumal blast of wind makes us shiver, but a bear taking its brumal nap is hibernating in a cozy place. The brumal crispness of ice on dead fall grasses is neither good nor bad, it is merely descriptive.  

How many times do I try to frame something as “good” or “bad” when in truth, it is neither?  Some things just are what they are. Winter is not my favorite season, but it has great value as the earth rests. Some things die to bring new life or to nourish the ground in preparation for the spring season. 

In what must have been the most emotional of dinners with His disciples, Jesus was facing the torment of the cross before him.  He said:

“ For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” Mark 14:21-22

It wasn’t winter, but did a brumal chill fill the upper room at His words? He was facing his battle with death, knowing He would win, but it would be brutal. There was abandonment and agony ahead. Still, he chose to suffer the humiliation of death on a cross to pay off our sin debt so we might be fully reconciled… paid in full! Forever. 

The brumal darkness of the grave dispelled! Forever. 

Today, I am grateful for a new winter word… brumal.