There I was sitting in my recliner minding my own business when I noticed out the window snow falling. The first snow of the season for me. I did what any rational male with two dogs would do; I took them outside so they could play fetch in the snow. My idea of fun and theirs was obviously miles apart. They didn't like the snow. The thrown balls were fetched...by me. So, we went back inside. I decided to give it another shot with a place where they could retreat to after retrieving said balls. No luck. I retrieved them again and gave up. I enjoyed my coffee and a warm fire from inside my home looking out the window at the snow while the dogs slept at my feet. Now isn't that a pretty picture?! Having been born in Montana and raised in North Dakota I've had my share of snow. I don't seem to tire of the first snowfall though. It's somewhat magical and yet enchanting at the same time. Unlike rain, which pounds on the skylights, snow "falls" softly; gliding to the ground settling where it may until it melts. If it snows long enough you begin to see a whiteness applied to everything around you. The snow didn't last long and by 3 PM it had stopped snowing and there was no trace that it had ever fallen in the first place.
As I was thinking about the snow (took most of my day), my mind was taken to another place and time in my life. The newness of the snow and the purity of it's whiteness reminded me of that first moment after I had received the forgiveness of God and the redemption of my soul. That first love so new and innocent that I didn't know what to do but stay in a state of awe and amazement. Perhaps you have that first memory as well. The grace of God falling on you suddenly, softly, succinctly and with purpose. That grace blanketing your history and covering all that which was forgiven. Unlike here on earth, the grace of God doesn't melt away like the first, second or even third snow. Once blanketed with the grace and love of God, the memory and experience never goes away. So, why do I fight the process? Why do I struggle with letting the grace and love remain only to make it gray with the dirt of this world? When I do let the dirt of this world land on the grace of God I see only my footprints. Kind of like yesterday with the snow. Until I stepped on the snowy grass there were no footprints. But there was the covering of snow symbolic of the covering of Grace. The footprint wasn't visible because I was looking at my footprints. When I take my eyes off God and his grace and love, I'm left with only my footprints...in the dirty grayish snow of my life.
Maybe the memory of that first love was just what I needed yesterday. Maybe the snow falling touched that part of my soul that hadn't been touched in a while. Not that God didn't want to touch my soul because he did and does. Rather, it was because I thought I could do life on my own. I didn't let Jesus carry me. Sometimes I wonder about my lack of common sense when it comes to the simple faith in the love and grace I overlook in order to placate my perceived needs. When that happens, the covering doesn't disappear. When that happens, God just doesn't go away. When that happens, he blessings don't stop. When that happens there is a separation between a God who loved, lived, died an rose from the dead so that I could live too. Every no and then I need the reminder of the amazing grace and love of God. Yesterday that reminder came in the first snow. The dogs and the balls they didn't chase are part of the picture but aren't THE picture. God's blessing of love and grace be to you today.
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