Snowbird Season Is Upon Us; Make The Most Of The Opportunity!

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(5) Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity <to witness>.  (6) Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.’ (Colossians 4:5-6)

We know that the winter season, now that autumn just started last week, will be upon us sooner than later. Winter in Florida is snowbird season, where the later months of the year don’t bring snow but snowbirds, those from up north migrating to escape the cold, icy conditions for a more temperate climate that we enjoy, as well – while avoiding the sweltering heat and the threat of hurricanes.

Typically, October begins this migration, though some wait until Thanksgiving passes, and some go through Christmas and New Year’s Day with their families in the confines of the frozen tundra landscape, before they slip down the interstates into the Sunshine State. With this migration comes the crowding out of us natives from our favorite restaurants, the inability to find available (or convenient) parking at shops, and US 41 becoming clogged in traffic as our population doubles in size. 

But don’t look or dwell at the negatives, look at the positives – especially for those who work in those shops and restaurants, who may now be able to recover from the reduced transactions of the summer as business increases from the influx. Even for our southwest Florida churches, the summer months often see a drop in the tithes and offerings. It is in the winter with the snowbird population that helps them in bumping up the balance sheet to overcome any annual shortfalls or deficits in the budget.

More importantly, as a Christian, think of the opportunities to witness!  Our ‘crop’ of the unsaved doubles in size, and there are many who have come to ‘worship the sun’ but also need to Worship the Son.

Some snowbirds arrive and don’t have a sense of ‘community’ once they arrive; though the businesses welcome them, some residents don’t as they see our seasonal guests as folks who clog the roads or take their spot in their favorite food joint. This lack of feeling part of a ‘community’ may be our greatest opportunity to successfully share the Gospel with them.

We as Christians should see our migratory visitors as ‘pre-grown’ wheat flown (or driven) in to populate the field for harvest. Many want that ‘community’, and church is the best place for them to gain fellowship and support. A welcoming church gives that sense of belonging, and builds lasting friendships that transcends state lines.  

As easy as it is to complain about the traffic, praise the Lord that we will see many of our friends who come back to us each year, and praise the Lord of those who we may not yet know but can share the Gospel with. 

Think of it this way, most churches in the US have to send their people away on mission trips.  Here in Florida, the mission field comes to us!  What more perfect of a time to share the Gospel with our snowbird guests, and perhaps the seeds we plant with them will be carried back to the ‘Great White Snowy North’ to those who stay there. 

Don’t look at our inconveniences, as those will disappear come April when our snowbirds flock back to their northern climes. Instead, look at our opportunities to help grow our Lord’s Kingdom, both here and wherever our snowbirds go back to!