The Pause in the Snow Fall

It’s snowing as I write this 47th letter… The snow started two days ago just as worship was ending. At this point, the weather service reports that Chalfont has 11.4 inches. And the snow continues… We have been out to shovel twice. They call this ‘heart attack snow’ and I believe it! I will really feel the exertion tomorrow in muscles I don’t even know I have! But for now, I am blessed to have a cozy study in the top floor of my home, where I can write today watching the flakes fall hour after hour. Some of our fellowship have had to brave the elements to get to work, their presence essential to the care and protection of others. But most of us are glad for a moment when the snow forces us to slow down, even pause, in the fast pace of our days. The beginning of the pandemic forced us to slow down, but over the past few months many of us have resumed a more normal pace. Until now, when once again we must stop…

Those of you who know me well, know that I do not pause easily. A day off finds me pacing the home looking for things that should get done. As a homeowner, there is always something… As a pastor, there is always someone… I seldom just stop. Even today, I have a to-do list that is longer than my time will allow, so I have been pressing ahead since 7am… the shoveling done before the sun rose. But as I write, I am feeling a nudge to stop… to pause… to take a moment to notice what God is doing right now.

It’s snowing! I know I have already said that, but I am trying to notice what God is doing right now. And right now, God is sending snow… simple, white flakes… each one unique… symmetrical… crystallin hexagons falling from the sky. The science of all this is fascinating… but right now I am just trying to take in the moment… the snow… falling…

I just looked at my driveway and noticed how much snow has fallen since we shoveled. And yes, I immediately began to wonder if we should go out again soon. But then I pull my thoughts back to watching the snow… falling…

The trees look so beautiful framed in white. I see icicles forming on the edge of my neighbor’s roof. When I open my door, all I hear is the quiet “shhhhhhhhh” of the snow… falling…

How peaceful! I remember running at Penn State when it would snow. I loved the quiet of those runs. Those were the only quiet moments on a campus with 30,000+ students! I loved the “shhhhhhh” of the snow, and the crunch of one foot fall after another. I loved watching my breath vaporize before my eyes. Those were simpler times… when I could easily stop to watch the snow… falling…

The Psalmist who wrote Psalm 118 probably never saw snow. Snow is not very common in Israel’s weather pattern. But as I read the well-known verse above, I would imagine that he would encourage us to stop today to watch the snow… falling… To see in those flakes the hand of a creative God, who fills this world with beauty. So often we focus on the brokenness… but today, our world is blanketed with white… snow… falling…

So I am trying to stop… to notice what God is doing…
With you watching snow… falling…
Anita