“Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough.” - Earl Wilson
So it snowed last night. In Texas. Yeah, I'm a little confused on that whole bit as well. Especially since it was a whole whopping 4 inches. In Texas. Yeah. . .
As such, I didn't want to waste an occurrence that happens once in a year or two in Texas, so I went outside this afternoon to have some childish fun. But as I stepped out my front door, I stopped. It was a pure white blanket, untouched, unmarred by human contact. There's not much on this earth that can be claimed that way. We've taken over a lot of things. But that's a whole other topic. Anyway, I hesitated to step into the snow. Not because it was cold or wet (heck no, I sat in the stuff later on. Couldn't feel my butt for a few hours, but it was cool [pun]). No. I hesitated because I didn't want to disturb a perfect image.
I mentioned that thought to my mom playfully, and she turned to me and said something that came across to me deeper than I guess she assumed it would. It was something along the lines of:
"Well, fresh snow is like a new day that God gives us. He gives it to us fresh, with no blemishes. Then we go and leave our footprints all over it and mess it up because we're just human."
That really got me thinking. God gives us a fresh start every day. He doesn't hold grudges, he doesn't keep a record of every little thing you did until that moment. And that act of mercy goes beyond me, and goes beyond all of us. We don't understand it. And being human, since we don't understand how one being could be so merciful and gracious, we take it for granted.
As children we've been taught manners (I very well hope). "Please" and "Thank you". Please to request something we desire, thank you to acknowledge that they did something you're grateful for, and that you want to show them your appreciation for the act or gift. Why then do we not give thanks to He who gives us life, who forgives our every mistake, and who promises us a brighter future? I mean, we do. It's just becoming a routine thing. . . Sunday morning, Wednesday night, maybe Sunday night.
At camp this summer, I was told at the rate we're going, 90% of teenagers will leave the church after high school. That's scary, folks. We lose hope because the world we live in increasingly demands more material and physical proof to try to explain the paranormal that can't register in our brains. We can't lose hope. Our God LIVES, and if the world around you isn't proof enough, then I pray that God may open your eyes, that you may see the beauty that surrounds you that was created by Him.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1
