Category Archives: Thankfulness

Unique Viewpoints

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Snowfall.As I write, a heavy snow is falling outside my windows, reminding me of winters past.

As a little girl growing up in the country (now the Chicago suburbs), a fresh snowfall was an invitation to come out and play. We had snowball fights, built snow forts, rolled snowmen, and deposited snowballs in a nearby creek where we watched them melt in the icy water.

We made snow-nests in a nearby field, then lay back comfortably to catch snowflakes on our tongues. If we were very quiet, we could even hear them land. The cold was never a problem, and we didn’t mind boots with snow packed around our ankles, or hands wet from soggy mittens.

Snowy funI remember being so excited to play in the snow after school that I ran out with my dress still on, (in the ‘50’s, girls wore dresses), playing until the skirt became as soaked as Mom’s dish rag but not minding one bit. When she would ring the cowbell to call us home for dinner, we’d groan in disappointment that our snow-playtime had ended.

These days I don’t think about snow like that, because I’m in a different season: not a weather-season, but a life-season. Each weather-season has its purposes, and though I love to watch the snow fall, playing in it for hours has lost its appeal. I do appreciate today’s beautiful storm but only because I’m seeing it with different eyes.

The same can be said of life-seasons. God hopes we’ll see them with eyes appropriate to each one, never considering the spring of childhood or summer of young adulthood as better than the autumn and winter seasons of older ages. He has affixed positives to every season, and if we look with the right eyes, we’ll see them.

Snowflake sampleToday, if I lift heavy rolled balls of snow in an effort to build a big snowman, my back will complain about it the next day. But if I walk Jack the dog with the proper coat and boots on, we can both enjoy the winter snow.

Sometimes it’s difficult to accept the season we’re in. Children long to get older. Teens reach for adulthood. Older folks wish they were young again. But these off-center views are simply a function of looking with the wrong eyes.

As we age, physical limitations increase, but if we ask God to highlight the positives of whichever season we’re in, he will show us. And though winter snows can be hazardous, each individual snowflake remains one of God’s great marvels, unique in its created, symmetrical design.

Snowflake sample.And if we stop long enough to appreciate that, we might even hear them land.

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth….’ ” (Job 37:6-7)

 

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Please pray for little Anders who is now over 5 pounds but has had a couple of set-backs. Pray for wisdom for the doctors as they make decisions.
  2. I’m thankful still to be feeling good, this week on a getaway to Florida with Bervin.

Snow Angels

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Remembering back to my first winter as a widow, 5 years ago:

Snowy bushesAs we watched a picture-perfect snowstorm out the window today, I was reminded of the snow-related care Nate put into action for our family. Before our teenage kids would drive away in a storm, he’d always check to be sure they had a snow scraper/brush in their cars, often brushing them off before they got out there. He would always clean my car off, and if his schedule allowed, would volunteer to drive me wherever I needed to go, if a storm was in progress.

Our extra-long driveway was a bear to shovel, but he did more than his share, and if he was short on time, he’d still shovel a path to each car door. He was faithful to check the windshield wiper fluid in the cars and to add more if needed.

We began thinking about buying a snow blower after shoveling that long driveway for 15 years. When a neighbor died and his widow offered to sell us his blower, Nate took her up on it. “But,” she said, “I’ll need someone to clear my driveway, too.”

That winter Nate began blowing snow off her driveway after every storm. He always did hers before ours, sometimes in his business suit and dress coat in the pre-dawn hours of a frigid weekday morning. Often he’d get hers finished but didn’t have time for ours, slipping and sliding away in his sedan on a rush to the commuter train.

I often think of Nate’s willingness to help this widow. Despite the major inconvenience of keeping her driveway clear, he never once complained about doing it. Since our neighbor had no one else to help her, he felt it was his duty to do so. The Bible says a great deal about widows, and God makes it clear he’s pleased with those who help them.

God was watching Nate blow the equivalent of mountains of snow off our friend’s driveway over the years, but I don’t believe Nate was ever aware of divine approval on those icy mornings. He was simply doing the right thing, which of course is often the hard thing.

Snow-pro neighborNow I find I’m the widow needing help. When the first big snowfall arrived, I was rummaging around in the basement for a snow shovel when I heard the delightful roar of a snow blower. Running upstairs, I saw our next-door-neighbor Bob, pink-cheeked and dodging clouds of flying snow, clearing off the driveway. When I ran outside to express my enthusiasm, he smiled and said, “Well, those of us with blowers should help those who don’t have them.”

I’ll never forget the rush of feelings that came to me then. I flashed back to Nate’s faithful work on our neighbor’s driveway, coupled with deep gratitude for my current neighbor and his cheerful willingness to help the widow next door.

”Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who… do what is right… Those who refuse to… harm their neighbors… and those who keep their promises, even when it hurts.” (Psalm 15:1-4, TLB)

 

Let’s see!

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God with UsThe marvel of Christmas is “God with us.” Though this is absolutely astounding, it’s difficult to grasp the depth of it, so during church last week our pastor went back into the Old Testament, before Christ’s birth, to see what God’s presence looked like.

First he mentioned the “thick and dreadful darkness” * that came over Abraham in conjunction with God’s arrival on the scene. Then he described the pillars of fire and cloud which were God’s actual presence when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt. **

Pastor Jay also described the time when God allowed Moses to see only his backside as his presence passed by, reminding him that if he saw his face, Moses would die. *** He also read about God’s presence coming in a whirlwind much like a terrifying tornado. **** In other words, the message of God’s physical presence was that we keep our distance and acknowledge a healthy fear of him.

Angels and shepherdsAnd then we come to Luke 2 where an angel says, “You will find him!”

That’s followed by the shepherds’ response, “Let’s go and see!”

The limited-access God of the Old Testament was announcing that everything would be different from then on. No more keeping our distance. No more dreadful darkness. No more whirlwind. No more smoke. No more fear.

In other words, no more unapproachable Divinity. Instead it was going to be, “Come and see.” Approach him. Get close. Interact. Worship. That night the presence of God became accessible in a brand new way. An unexpected invitation was extended to “Come and see that God is with us!”

And that’s the astounding truth of Christmas.

“The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today…. and you will recognize him…” (Luke 2:11-12)

*Genesis 15:12   **Exodus 13:22   ***Exodus 33:20   ****Job 40:6

Praising and Praying with Mary

I’m praising God for being surrounded by my loving family, now 26 strong, and for still being able to say I’m feeling good.