Remember being a kid and just loving it when you got a "snow day"? Sleeping in, watching TV, playing outside, and maybe doing a little schoolwork - ah, those were the days! And then you "grow up" - my, what a change!
The reality is that after you "grow up," those "snow days" look an awful lot like any other day, except usually they're worse. You get up earlier because you need to clear the car and shovel the snow; instead of watching TV, you watch bumpers closely (just in case the person driving in front of you doesn't know what they're doing); and frequently you end up doing someone else's job and yours at work because they couldn't make it in that day!
In my humanity, I've had just about all the "snow days" that I can handle this year (I think the kids are going to school until about July...OK, I exaggerate just a bit). With about 2' of the white stuff on the ground, I find myself daydreaming more and more about living someplace warm!
But the Lord kind of "jerked my chain" this morning as I was shoveling, then navigating, through our winter wonderland. The verse suddenly popped into my mind where God says, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). It's a promise about what He will do for us when we place and keep our trust in Him.
I don't know about you, but I've had (and will continue to have) a fair measure of "scarlet" in my lifetime. I don't like it, and am seeing it decrease over time, but make no mistake - it's there! What these piles and piles of white stuff have reminded me of today is that no matter how much "scarlet" there is, God's ability to make them "white as snow" will never end. The very same beauty found with newfallen snow can be evidenced in my life as He washes the sin away.
I may never like the snow again after this winter, but I tell you what, the ever present reminder that it is to me of God's love, forgiveness and grace is something I'll never get tired of!
