How to Seek Comfort in the Cold

Sorry this is a bit blurry- the steam fogged my
shot.  Also, my iPhone 4 camera sucks.

Since it doesn't happen very often, we Southern Californians tend to freak out when the temperature drops below 70, and when water falls from the sky.  So brace yourselves, my friends, for some terrible news: today it's a frigid 63 degrees AND it's raining!  

This morning I stepped outside for my walk with my dog, and promptly turned around.  So. Flipping. Cold.  I dug into my "winter clothing"pile at the back of my closet to find a fleece jacket, long sleeved shirt, wool socks, and my Lululemon Wunder Unders.  Ahhh.  Relief. 

For lunch, I had a yearning for something hot and hearty.  I decided on my go-to cold weather comfort food: Udon.  This yummy noodle dish is the Japanese equivalent of chicken soup, but with extra little treats: fish cake, bok choy, green onions, shrimp tempura.  You can throw just about anything into this little bowl of goodness. 

Mmmmm.  I felt warm, satisfied, and happy all over.  It also helped that I had lunch with my incredible Dad who happened to be in town from Hawaii.  We had an awesome conversation, and really enjoyed just hanging out, despite the frosty weather.  Side note: if you think we Southern Californians go bananas over the cold, you can only imagine how arctic this weather was for my poor Hawaiian daddy! 

There is an easy way to be comforted when we're going through a difficult time, like this cold weather front (joking).  God designed us not only to rely on him, but to be in community with each other.  We're asked to seek comfort in him so we can also comfort others.  How reassuring to know that between God and each other, we're constantly giving and receiving love.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4