Snow

It is March in Minnesota, and one thing that means is snow.  We had something on the order of 10 inches last Monday, and last night, just six days later, we had another 8 inches.  Last week’s snow was very light and fluffy.  Last night’s was different.  It was the heavy, sticky kind.  Excellent for making snowmen and laborious to remove, no matter what method one uses.  With most of the month yet to come we are very likely to get another large storm before spring really arrives.

Storms that drop as much snow as the last two storms did are ones that last for several hours.  It started last night while we were out and we cleaned off the car to drive home.  Then, an hour later, the car we park outside had another thick layer on it, which I cleaned off as I moved the car to be out of the way of the snowplow.  And this morning there was another thick layer to clear off before being able to use the car. 

And while outside this morning, even before the sun came up, I could clearly see how everything was covered in white snow, undisturbed but for the deer that had walked across the yard.  Snowfalls like the ones we’ve had in the past week create significant, but temporary, barriers to daily life.  Even so, the fresh fallen snow is beautiful to look at.

Psalm 51 is a beautiful statement of David’s sorrow for sin and his request for God’s mercy.  Verse 7 came to mind as a looked at the snow this morning:

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

   wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

God’s love, poured out in Christ Jesus, is a bit like the snow that fell last week and last night.  It is relentless.  And in a sense it makes things new.

The snow falls heavily but eventually stops.  God’s love just keeps coming and coming and coming.  Even in the midst of our troubles we can see God pouring His love out on His people.

And the snow that fell here last night made everything look clean.  We had a lot of snow last week but we also had warmer weather and rain later in the week.  Things looked pretty dirty outside by Saturday.  But for a while this morning they looked pristine again.  In a similar manner, only infinitely better, God’s love washes away every last bit of the sin in our lives that separates us from Him. 

I count it a blessing to see things in nature that point me towards God, such as today’s reminder that in Christ I have been washed whiter than snow.  May you see and savor His love in your life today, and every day.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.