Thoughts of Snow...

The weeks fly by, partly due to the fact that we only have lecture Mondays and Fridays, and partly because the rest of the week we have clinical and lab which makes the days seem to disappear. I was hoping for snow this weekend but I don't think it will happen unfortunately. I love snow, and although it is very nice not to have to tramp though it to school everyday, I still miss seeing it. I love waking up in the morning and seeing snow falling outside my window blinds, and hearing the snow plow go by with it's distinctive sound of metal on pavement. To bundle up and go shovel snow on the driveway, which soon becomes almost a neighborhood party as the designated "shoveler" from each house braves the cold. If school has been cancelled kids will be running down the deserted street adding the joyful music of laughter to the rhythmic scraping beat of shovels. The physical work makes you exhausted and by the time you finish the driveway a new layer of snow mocks your efforts, and reminds you that in another three or four hours you'll be shoveling again. Back inside the smell of something warm and good makes the work worthwhile, and I make myself a cup of hot chocolate to heat my frozen fingers. Soon my dog begs to go outside and standing by the door I laugh as she jumps through the snow unable to capture the illusive snowflakes that seem to disappear as soon as she has them. The universal gray sky of a winter day fades far too soon into the dark charcoal gray of evening. Making note of how much snow has fallen by the height piled on the back porch railing, my back accurately tells me how much all that snow weighs. Another day is over, and yet the snow continues to fall, mindless of the time, the day, or the lives lived. My favorite thing is when it's very late at night and I can't sleep. The house is dark and quiet, and I can just sit by the window and watch the snow silently cover the ground, sparkling as it falls around the single driveway lamp. Everything is so still, then far away carried by the stillness comes the faintest sound of a snow plow, or the distant bark of a dog. It's as if you are the sole observe of a sacred moment in time that only the starry sky and barren trees attest to. What a God who would create something so beautiful. It is truly as if all of nature cries out the beauty and goodness of the Lord. How often I forget to enjoy that which God has created all around me. I get so wrapped up in the temperature, or in the inconvenience, that I forget to just sit back and lose myself in the beauty of Jesus. "Humans are the only creatures concerned with time" a quote that I recently heard someone say, and how true it is. We get so busy in our lives that we don't have time to live. Yes, there are days where the weather is anything but beautiful, but in reality enjoying life it is not about the external conditions which uplift our hearts. Instead it is about experiencing the beauty and glory of Jesus, which transforms even the dreariest of days into a celebration of life, love, family, and creation. What a God who made a world in which to reveal Himself to man through each encounter with nature. It is as if God rejoices in our exploration and appreciation of that which we are surrounded by. I suppose that was a rather long means to an obvious ending, but you did request another addition to the blog, and so I have heeded your long awaited request...enjoy.