White As Snow

"Why am I still living in the Chicagoland area?," I mumbled to myself as I looked at the temperature outside while getting ready for work. You might assume that growing up in this area I would be a winter person. But, I will honest. Winter is my least favorite season and I anticipated it's arrival with much grumbling and complaining.

However, it really begins in the fall. You see, I have this love/hate relationship with the fall season. I love the look of the changing leaves and seeing pumpkins everywhere. But, somewhere in the back of my mind I know that fall is just teasing me for the inevitable: shorter days, the sun not shining as bright or as warm and, of course, the bitter cold weather.

Yet, seeing the snow fall yesterday for the first time I was reminded of how pretty winter could be. There really isn't anything like the first snow fall. The pure white snow on the ground, free of dirt or leaves. The big snowflakes gently making their way down, creating a blanket across our yards. And despite the coldness, I stood in awe of what God can do with in our lives and the lives of our children.

While winter may not have the same characteristics as summer, God has a way of making it special and wonderful in its own way. And He does the same in all of us. Just like every snowflake is different, we too are created by a loving Creator who took His time to make sure we were made perfectly in His image. God has a purpose and a plan for each of us. And even if we have strayed from that plan or have made mistakes we are not proud of, God makes all things new, clean and beautiful in His site. He can take our past and make it work out for His glory, washing away our sins so that we can once again be whiter than snow.

So today I choose to look at the snow with new purpose. Instead of complaining about the shoveling and having to be outside in the cold, I will remember all that God has saved me from and that He has the power take any situation and make it good. And I will pray the prayer of the Psalmist: "Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:7)