A Midwinter God: Encountering the Divine in Seasons of Darkness

by Christine Valters Paintner

“I believe we all carry grief that has gone unnamed and unmourned,” writes best-selling author Christine Valters Paintner. “Nothing in our culture prepares us to deal with darkness and grief. We are told to cheer up and move on, to shop or drink our way to forgetting the pain we carry. Yet I believe that being faithful to our own dark moments is the path of true prayer.” In her book, A Midwinter Encountering the Divine in Seasons of Darkness, Paintner offers an invitation to enter the wisdom of holy darkness and to find there a path toward hope and spiritual maturity.

Paintner has experienced multiple journeys through grief that have brought her face-to-face with what she calls the “midwinter God”—the seeming absence of the God of life in dark and fallow seasons of loss. She has learned to confront her own terror in that darkness and to approach it with curiosity to see what it has to teach her. This endeavor has illuminated a path for her to embrace a life of profound depth, one that honors both the trials of suffering and the richness of joy.

With her characteristic integrative and creative practices, Paintner, abbess of the online Abbey of the Arts, guides her readers to view darkness as a place where seeds of holiness begin to germinate. Each chapter of this book unfolds as an invitation to grow in understanding of holy darkness and also meditate, reflect, and create with these

Paintner’s reflections on various themes of loss and acceptance Insights on a scripture passage written by Paintner’s husband, John A guided meditation to bring the teachings into your heart Prompts for an expressive arts practice to process these insights through creativity Reflection questions to integrate what you have experienced Writing samples from people who have worked through this material in an online retreat   Autumn and winter are vital to the health of nature and to our own bodies. It is a time of releasing and letting go—a season that invites us to slow down, to welcome the growing darkness, and to grow stiller and quieter. Darkness can be an uncomfortable and uneasy place, but it is also a place of profound incubation and gestation, a source of tremendous and hard-wrought wisdom. With Paintner as our guide, we can encounter this midwinter God with vulnerable courage that leads us to hope-filled wholeness.

Genres: Spirituality

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2024

About the author

Christine Valters Paintner, PhD is the online Abbess at AbbeyoftheArts.com, a virtual monastery and global community. She is the author of over 20 books on contemplative practice and creative expression including three collections of poetry. She lives in Galway, Ireland where she leads online retreats with her husband John. Christine is a Benedictine oblate, living out her commitment as a monk in the world.

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, A Midwinter God, by Christine Valters Painter, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The author defines Midwinter God as the "seeming absence of the God of life in dark and fallow seasons of loss". We have all dealt with loss and grief in our lives. Christine Valters Painter, shows how to deal with the cold months of darkness. This was a very informative book on how to get through the dark times.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Embracing Midwinter's Paradoxes

The ability of Christine Valters Paintner to hold the midwinter paradoxes of her life in a welcoming embrace opens a sanctuary space—a holy darkness—for others living through their own dark seasons. The hospitality creates a safe place where we learn to sit patiently with unwieldy feelings and memories that have nowhere else to go.

By leaning into—and not bypassing—pain and trauma, grief and anguish, irretrievable loss, and other forms of woundedness, we may gradually discover that the very midwinter darkness we seek to avoid holds unexpected gifts.

Two of this book’s many wisdom gifts may prove invaluable to those who have lived with dark seasons and darker stories. The validation of our unpalatable stories—ones too dark or too unbearably painful for most ears—can bring great relief to those suffering the inhumanity of never being listened to.

Validation functions both outwardly and inwardly. Its relief teaches us to listen with tender compassion to our own experiences—and not turn away. Staying present to ourselves requires courage along with resources to face the journey and discover the sacred presence of the midwinter God.

When used as anchoring resources, a second gift offers eight essential practices that include things like art-making, movement, and poetry reading-and-writing. Such practices companion us as we learn to bear with and witness to our own suffering—without being swept away by tsunami emotions.

Learning to live with the paradox of holy darkness—its destructive and nurturing power—is a journey into spiritual maturity. The journey’s purpose is meant to heal us, enlarge our capacities to be awake and present, and empower our service to others facing their own dark seasons.

This book’s nuanced insights and practical wisdom make it a trustworthy guide and fitting companion for dark midwinter journeys.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work by Christine Valters Paintner is freeing and insightful. Christine speaks from her own experience of the winter seasons of her life, and also shares deep wisdom from many other voices. She invites me to stay with the darkness, pain, grief and sorrow of my life, and not to rush through it, distract myself from it, or accept trite rationales, but rather to allow the time for healing, spiritual growth and transformation, within the holy darkness.

It is counter-cultural in our time, she reminds me. It is challenging, and sometimes frightening, to stay there. Yet, Christine encourages and invites openness to be present to these difficult times. She offers wonderful resources and practices to aid in this process – meditation, expressive art forms, movement, nature walks, reflection questions, and others. And John Valters Paintner provides insightful scripture reflections for each theme.

It is always an invitation from Christine, never a “magic bullet” or a “must do”. She encourages listening, patience and open hands and heart. I will return to Christine’s book time and time again, for encouragement, solace, companionship and wisdom during the winter seasons of my life.

Thank you, Christine, for this very rich experience!

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Midwinter God is a book to be read, reread, and savored over time to get the fullest benefit of the author's wisdom! Christine Valters Painter leads us on a journey to help restore normalizing grief as a part of our common humanity and uses her gifts of theological understanding, Jungian psychology, and personal experience to help us realize that the sorrows and losses that accompany grief are not to be avoided or diminished but befriended and embraced as ways that open us to individual and communal compassion. She invites us not to fear the darkness, but befriend the unknowing, trusting both in ourselves and the promise that we are never alone. In doing so, we learn to connect with our deepest selves, God, and each other. Besides the presenting theme, each chapter includes a biblical scripture reflection, a meditation, options for artistic expression, and reflection questions for journaling. Additional poetic materials are also included at the end of every chapter for those who would like to use the materials in small group settings. Thank you, Christine for sharing this gift with the world.

[Jennifer Meegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that held my hand and guided me as I walked through my grief and the terrible grief of the world. I received it to review honestly and am very grateful for this. A Midwinter God teaches ways to ‘hold together the tension of lament and praise’ and I learned that ‘despair and beauty dwell in the same space.’ It is a book to read slowly, pause often and ponder and return to. Christine offers her own experiences of times of Midwinter, a wide range of other sources, John’s scripture reflections, reflective questions and the moving and beautiful poems and stories from those who used the material here as part of an online retreat. For me working through the book was like going on a retreat and a special gift was the wide range of creative practices at the end of each chapter with their very clear and do able guidelines. Christine writes that, ‘ resources are anchors in the storms of our lives.’ This book is indeed one such anchor.

[Melissa Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a deeply wise and skillfully written book, a great gift for anyone who is living with grief and loss, especially if the reader is open to reflection on sacred stories, many of them from a Christian context. I was slow and purposeful in reading A Midwinter God, and felt the exercises and questions for reflection were brilliant invitations to work through the challenges and changes of grief. The meditations and questions at the end of each chapter are approachable and invitational, the theology and insights available to a wide range of readers, from the lightly spiritual person to the seasoned minister. This book could be a good read for a grief support group. I imagine I’ll be buying copies of this book to give to friends in the future. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to reflect and come through my season of loss feeling more fully self aware and grounded.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a part of the Abbey of the Arts for over ten years and Christine’s books and retreats have played a very important role in my spiritual journey. Her latest book, A Midwinter God, really touched my heart and soul. It is both her deeply personal journey and an invitation to walk together through times of struggle and grief. Through personal stories, reflections, scripture studies (written by her wonderful husband John), reflective activities, and poetry written by members of the Abbey community, the reader is invited to participate in the sacred work of healing with Christine. Set up in a retreat format, this is a book to be savored and returned to again and again as you walk through life’s challenges and opportunities for healing.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

related to some but not most

I liked some of the quotes, but some I really didn’t relate to at all or agree with. Some parts I found very doubtful so it was difficult to want to continue when I disagreed with it.

[Jane Braun · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t get beyond the preface

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transformational

[Bonnie Westmark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read all of Paintner’s books and eagerly look forward to each new one. I enjoy her poems, reflections, and stories. She speaks to me on a personal level as we have many commonalities. It almost seems as though she has a direct link with God and writes for me the book I need at the exact time I need it. I feel God speaking to me through her words. I would recommend this book to everyone, but it was especially helpful to me as I work through a long season grief.