Let it Snow...

Yesterday I had my first snow of the season and I loved it. I was excited all week and as it approached I was giddy and filled with anticipation.   

Granted I know that with snow comes dangerous driving conditions; high energy bills for keeping the house warm; freezing temperatures; shoveling driveways; scraping cars; ice to slip on; runny noses; frostbitten fingers and ears; wind-chills that burn your face and a bunch of other negative things. Yes, snow does bring all that and I admit that I am not a fan of any of those things. So why might you ask, am I filled with excitement at the thought of snow?

I am not sure the exact reason to be honest, but I think it is because I choose not to think about all the hard aches the snow brings, but focus on the snow itself.

As I look out my window at night and see the snow falling to the ground, lit up and almost glowing by the street lamps around me, all I can see is the beautiful, breathtaking miracle about to create my winter wonderland. I think of snowman, snow angels and snow forts; sparkling icicles hanging from houses; the snowflakes you can catch on your tongue, the way fresh fallen snow can cover the barren and dismal winter grounds and make it glisten and shine in the sun; how the bare trees that once looked sad and dead now sparkle like diamonds as each branch and twig are covered in pure white fluff.

It also reminds me of God’s wonderful hand of creation. Not all of his creations are full of life, snow is just water, yet he can turn a dismal and depressing scene into one that makes you stand in awe of its beauty.

Not only does it remind me of His awesome power, it also reminds me of His words in Isaiah 1:16-18. 

Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the Lord. "Though your sins are scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." 

God wants to completely cleanse us, to wash our sins away so that we are "whiter than snow". Freshly fallen snow in the sunlight is so white it is blinding, can you imagine being whiter than that, being cleaner than that? It seems impossible, especially when I consider all of my sins. But God can do it and has done it to me and continues to every day and He does it through the precious blood of Jesus. 

 

This winter, I encourage all of you and myself to look at the snow when it falls and blankets the ground and streets, I mean really see it and give thanks to God who has given it, also remembering that God wants to make our soul as white as this new-fallen snow!  Thank you Lord for this breathtaking snow and this wonderful gift of grace!