In The Promise of Winter, Martin Marty along with his son Micah, a photographer, ponder through meditations on the Psalms and pictures, the wintery soul and the different aspects of this cold season in the north. Here is a piece on stillness:

"All is still now. Dwellers in snow country remark how after winter thunder and a blowing storm, silence can pall the snowscape. Poets call this preternatural, because it seems to exist eerily beyond nature. No bird song, no whistle in the wind, no crackle of a twig interrupts the quiet. Plants are at rest, as are households. Often that means all is well. Souls seeking escape from the tumult of business and busy people welcome such hours and occasions.

"Such welcoming is for special times, however, because usually we need a sense that someone is near, that events can occur. The search for company is strongest when we feel danger or fear being isolated. When people long ago feared the stalking of their enemies, they cried to God to break the silence. So do people now; so it is with us now.

"Whole seasons bring, with their coming, disappointments or depressions that can lead to the feeling that we are abandoned. When we must crave the direct voice of God, it seems most difficult to hear. When we most desire company, we feel almost alone. Stillness at such times does not produce quiet within. Instead it awakens the kind of trauma that will be best interpreted by a cry: 'Oh God!' Cultivating the presence of God today and listening helps assure that the only silences we experience are of the welcome sort: those that produce quiet in the fragile heart."

During these winter months, take some time to assess your need for silence. Have you discovered its importance in your prayer life? Where do you go to find this precious resource? Think about the times in your life when stillness has been a burden or scary for you. What spiritual practices have helped you to overcome this obstacle? Create a special day for silence and see how you respond to it.

— Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat in Practicing Spirituality in Winter