Let it snow!

With the recent snow storm, millions of New Englanders have been shoveling, plowing, or blowing major amounts of snow off their driveways and sidewalks.  

Growing up in Florida, I never saw snow except on TV. Now that I have lived in the Northeast for the past eight years, I get excited when a snow storm hits. My neighbors think I’m crazy. They dread the snow because it means a lot of work and a lot of cleanup. But for me, I have a different view. 

There is a certain elegance and beauty when I see a steady stream of falling snow. In fact, I’ll find myself staring out the window for long periods of time – mesmerized by each and every flake gracefully dancing down. Without delay, I’ll rush outside, purposely pointing my face upward so every pattered snow flake will kiss my face. That simple experience is quite amazing and yet so satisfying to me.  

But what I really love is how the snow utterly transforms and alters my view of the surrounding landscape.  

“And all that was once dirty or broken is now lost and buried in the pure, frozen snow.” 

When the snow has halted and the sun appears, there is a white glistening as far as you can see. In fact, at certain angles, the snow is quite blinding and bright!The silvery snow sticks and clumps onto the bushes, shrubs and trees like Christmas ornaments. The entire area enveloped by a gorgeous icy blanket.  Everything looks and feels different.  

And all that was once dirty or broken is now lost and buried in the pure, frozen snow. 

When King David had an affair with Bathsheba, he wrote a song in the form of a confessional prayer to God:

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”  -Psalm 51:7 (NLT)

Have you ever thought, ‘I’m too dirty, stained and sinful for God to forgive me?’  or ‘I’m too far gone for God to ever accept me?’ Let me say, ‘I understand.’  Honestly, it’s hard to fathom that God would forgive knowing how far I’ve strayed. In fact, even harder to think God would be willing to restore the broken pieces of my life.

But God promises to forgive and cleanse (I John 1:9). You’re not too far gone. You can be restored and you can be made new again. Go to Him. He wants to hear from you. Confess and ask for forgiveness. God’s grace is sufficient and available to you every time.  

The next time you see snow, thank God. Thank Him for burying your sins, forgiving you and making you gleam ‘whiter than snow’.

Hal Haller serves as the associate executive director for the Baptist Convention of New England, where he also oversees church planting.