A Bit Snowed In

My wife will tell you that she enjoys being snowed in once in a while. It takes the pressure off the busy schedule and everyone gets a bit of a break for the day. You can shut the alarm clock off, drink an extra cup of coffee, take a nap, and have lunch with family. Oh, it’s more work shoveling, plowing, rearranging appointments, making up homework, but for the most part it’s an interruption we can work with now and again here in the North Country; it’s actually sort of expected once in a while.

Me, I get a bit claustrophobic when it happens. I enjoy the snow, the break in the schedule, the time at home, and the extra cup of coffee for sure. But, as I look down my driveway at the snowdrifts that even my four-wheel-drive will not go through, my sense of independence is being shut down. I admit, I think it is a bit of pride too. My thoughts go to, “I can’t control this,” or, “I can’t leave the yard, how can I get anything done?” That’s where I give up my joy. I lose the child-like sense of awe and exploration. I forfeit the chance to enter in and gain from the experience choosing instead to worry and fret, when I know that all the worry in the world will not move the drifts from my driveway or open up the day’s schedule.


I like where David asks God to, “Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law.” (Ps.119:18) He goes on to say that he feels like a foreigner in hostile territory; that only God’s guidance will be sufficient for him to live. He is referring to the written Word of God, the Torah, looking for wisdom and instruction; I like to think he’s feeling like I do – a bit snowed in and helpless. But let’s take this same attitude into all that God is doing around us every day. “Open my eyes that I might behold Wonderful things in what You are doing right in front of me.”


We may be feeling a bit snowed in, trapped, our sense of independence being taken away, our world may seem a bit hostile, we may feel we don’t fit in anymore, we aren’t sure what is going on. I’m reminded of the apostle writing these words: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household.” (Eph. 2:19) Thank God, there is more to this life than the mire of our everyday efforts!


This is because of what Jesus has done for us. His Kingdom is the real world. His plan for mankind is what will ultimately be accomplished. His name is what will stand the lengths of time. His purpose for each of us is His desire. The apostle John, referring to Jesus, said that the Light had come into the world and it cannot be overtaken by its darkness.


We may see controversy, we may have differing views on everything from religion to politics, but the Word of the Lord will last forever and God’s purpose will be accomplished in it all – whether I worry about it or not! So, “Lord, open our eyes that we may see Wonderful things!”