Walking with Skadi

As I read of the Goddess of Winter, Skadi, I am transported to my childhood. Sharp memories of the crisp, unforgiving winters of North Dakota. So many nights of walking the last few miles home at my father's side, leaving the truck stuck in a snow filled ditch. The still, silence of the snow insulated landscape, the only sound the crunching of our cowboy boots on the frozen,crusty snow and slush, and the occasional yip of coyotes in the distance. Boots stiff from the frigid ground, toes tingling, burning, and achy from the unrelenting cold. The dark night canopy was cloudless most nights, and dotted with bright, shining stars to help guide us home over the rough terrain.  Each hill a little closer to home, but as I got colder and more tired I lost count of the hills and my resolve to keep up with my dad's long strides waning. Just one more hill, and I will see the car-pass above our house. No, surely this is the last hill...no... And yet I kept walking, boot heels carving our path home, and eventually we would make it to the last hill. At the sight of your light pole set in the middle of the corral my hope, and my resolve would be restored.

How many nights did we make this journey on foot because dad was too drunk to be behind the wheel? Yet how many times were we saved from injury because of that same snow that chilled the air, and my limbs also slowed our skids, slides, careens, and veers off the gravel road and into the ditch? And each time we made it home safely, below freezing temperatures and no street lights to guide us home, with no more than a severe chill, and a good helping of frost nip. Was it luck, or was there someone watching out for us? Did the Spirits of the Land take pity on us, or a liking to us? Was the Great Huntress of the North  protecting me, and walking by my side? Maybe, maybe not. According to Merriam Webster, Faith is "firm belief in something for which there is no proof." I certainly have to "proof" of divine intervention, but I certainly have a body of experience that says there are many times my life could have easily have been forfeit, yet here I am nearing half a century on this planet. As physically miserable as those treks home were, and as terrified as I was of the creatures of the night that might get us, the beauty of the Winter Night was never lost on me. Perhaps that beauty is part of what helped me to carry on.

If you would like to learn more about Skadi here's a lovely, quick read: http://www.lulu.com/shop/laura-snow-fuller/lady-of-the-mountain-hall-a-skadi-devotional/paperback/product-24314740.html