Since moving to Upstate New York I am enjoying the privilege of
experiencing the snow again! I know it's different for me since I get to sit at
home and view it through my window as I write while others are shoveling and
driving in it but take a moment and see it through my eyes. Although I lived in California for almost 40
years, my roots in the northeast are deeply embedded in me. I have wonderful
memories of the snow from growing up here and now that I'm back in it, all
those memories are filling my heart again! I'm an unusual breed of person that
actually loves the cold weather and enjoys the snow. The cold makes swirlies in my cheeks that make me smile and I feel invigorated and jolly! I've always been like that
and it's one of the few wonderful memories that I have from my youth.
I can recall feelings of joy and exhilaration from playing in the
snow, skiing, skating, sledding, going to get our Christmas tree! I can still feel the
happiness of opening the door at my parents’ house and embracing the chilly
wool coats and cheeks of our relatives and friends who came to visit! My heart
warms at the visions of walking in the snow down Park Avenue with my niece and
going in and out of the scented shops along the way! The sides of my mouth curl
up and a smile pops onto my face when I remember all the nights out with my
girlfriends driving in snow storms but not being afraid because we were
together, innocent and just simply laughing and living in the moment. And the
nights looking out on freshly fallen snow and seeing colors that I knew only
existed in God's palette and how that fascinated me! I would stare at the
glistening snowflakes that looked like a lavender blanket of sparkling diamonds
thrown across my lawn and a deep awareness that there was a heaven and it was
beyond anything I knew would sweep over my soul.
Being back here and experiencing the snow again has allowed God to
add to my wonderful memories! Kissing the rosy, cold cheeks of my
grand-children after they pound across my front porch stomping the snow from
their boots. Seeing them poking their little red noses against the glass in my
front door in anticipation of me coming around the corner and smiling from ear
to ear with joy of their arrival! And laughing with my dear friend who moved
here from California with us, just to have a new adventure, about how cold it
is and we must be nuts for leaving the beach for this! But the most special of
my new memories is a gift God gave me during the first falling of the snow.
"Each one is different." is all He whispered to my heart. Then the
Holy Spirit watered that seed and insights beyond my imagination blossomed from
it!
I’m not sure I have the words to express the depth of God’s love
that was revealed to me in that moment. I can simply say that He opened up a
door and showed me how awesome He is! I realized beyond my ability to reason
just how spectacular He is and that everything we have, from breath,
procreation, photosynthesis, galaxies, human love and compassion…are all in and
of Him! That profound thought spider-webbed out into a million revelations of
His love! I felt overwhelmed by the truth that no person can count or account
for every snowflake and its uniqueness. Only God designs and builds each human,
each snowflake, each creature that roams the earth, flies in the air or swims
in the deep. No two ever alike and not just different in physical appearance
but down to the DNA and even deeper into what sets our talents and
personalities apart! I saw even deeper things in that time with God, but put simply, He showed me a small portion of His majesty in a
snowflake…all because I stopped for a moment and listened for Him.
Why do people fight Him. He is beauty, power, majesty, forgiveness,
healing, love…. Yet they rejected Him and continue to do so.
Sit in your car a bit longer…turn off your t.v. for a bit…stare
out your window more….settle into a calmness and a quietness that you tend to
avoid. Be still….and know that He is God. (Psalm 46:10)
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