Happy Valentine’s Day! And Happy Snowy Sunday!

After a day of tiny snowflakes that slowly added up to about 4” by last night, this morning has brought bigger flakes and another inch or two of accumulation. Things look whiter and colder from this side of the picture window - but the hummingbird feeder is not frozen like it was yesterday.

Given that it’s Valentine’s Day, with thoughts turning to love, I started thinking (uh-oh) about how hard it’s been to feel and show love to those who fall on the other side of the political divide over the past year (or four). Maybe you have escaped this experience, but I’ve found my heart hardening against public figures, acquaintances, high school friends, and even some family members because of all the hate that’s been tossed around.

And as I sit here looking at a non-frozen hummingbird feeder surrounded by 4-6” of snow, I wonder if now that we’ve closed the most recent impeachment chapter, I can begin to thaw parts of me that have been hardened.

Do not misunderstand, I am not calling for “unity without accountability.” I’m simply noting that I am the one hurt by the hardening of my heart — and I believe there must be a way for me to melt it a bit so that I can look for what we have in common as a way to talk about where we are different, so that we can collectively get to the future we need to meet. There are huge challenges ahead of us. Finding healthy and sustainable ways through them is going to take more than half of us.

I laugh at myself as I’m typing…because I’m also listening to the morning political shows. Hearing a prominent politician blaming the democrats for allowing the country to get to this point is testing my “thawing experiment.” For a moment there, I could feel my heart getting colder again.

Sigh. The pursuit of a warm and loving heart is worth it, but dang, this is going to take a while.