When Snowfall Comes, How Does It Help Me to Joyfully Wonder?
Five times I had a snowfall's pause in a winter wonderland:
1) On the morning of February 16, 2015 in Worcester, when the real temperature outside was –30 degrees Fahrenheit; that day came after Winter Storm Neptune unleashed an onslaught of snow and wind that placed our beloved city as the #1 snowiest city in the U.S. in 2015, which included an accumulation of 103 inches at the time. This was after the mammoth 34.5 inches of snow that Winter Storm Juno dumped on Worcester once the two-day storm from January 26-27, 2015 was finished. This included Massachusetts' largest single day snowfall on record on January 26 with Worcester receiving a staggering 31.9 inches.
2) On the day of January 4, 2018 when a snow cyclone called a bombogenesis hit Worcester and we had sick in-laws with the flu in the house. And that wasn't even counting the subzero cold which was brutally breathtaking, as well as frustrating as it created frost in my attic every time I opened the door to get a book (my library was in the attic at the time). The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore said of that day, "For lack of a better analogy, we are getting absolutely puked on right now." Multiple school and businesses were closed, my in-laws flight was canceled and postponed, and the roads and hills were turned into bobsled tracks with some commutes lasting for hours just to go a few miles.
3) On the evening of December 17, 2020 when the pandemic was hitting new heights in Worcester, Winter Storm Gail came in with the height of about a foot of snow. This was during the season Advent when we remember again how to practice waiting and hoping. During this season, I was finishing nearly nine months of being mostly just with my family at home all the time, whether working, doing school, playing, resting etc., often with candles in the darkness, and the wonder of what 2021 might hold in relation to vaccines, re-openings, new obstacles and opportunities, and more.
4) During the day of January 29, 2022, while not on a record-breaking snowfall pace, but about 18 inches of snow canvased Worcester. And despite the wicked winters that can bombard New England, 2022 continued in a string of relatively mild winters where there is always still a curiously wonder-full and worshipful perspective that can break into view.
5) In the midst of the wicked early morning of January 7, 2024, I woke up at 3:45 a.m. in an attempt to shovel out the driveway and all the walkways around the house before my friend picked me up at 4:30 a.m. to take me to the airport to fly to a fasting and prayer summit hosted in Pittsburgh. It was a wake up call like no other, but those furious 45 minutes of shoveling were still serene as I could hear and see only snowflakes falling.
I got to step outside, breathe, and shovel during one of my favorite moments: solitude and snow at night. The wind whistled, the light and frothy snow swirled, and small snow drifts collected.
Learning How to Listen and Look in the Dark and Worship
I love to listen in the dark with the snow. Often, it takes me back to Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ... "
It's amazing how the darkness can be transformed when I stop to let the eyes of my body, as well as the eyes of my heart, to adjust. Catching a glimmer of light (and imagining all the light we cannot see) can make a difference.
This is what I have found in Jesus as the Light of the World the darkness cannot overcome during Epiphany, this season of God revealing Good News to those who are wandering in the darkest hours because He is the God who pursues us in the holy wild.
When I experience Jesus break through the clouds of my life, and I understand again that "Light Has Come" that no darkness can overcome, it has revealed a stirring beauty like snow crystals piercing the night sky with small flashes of light. If Jesus is the Lord who is come that "Joy to the World" announces, and He has come to save the least, the last, and the lost including me, He is in the process of making my joy complete in the wonder of such a cleansing snowfall.
Communion is wonderfully simple.
To discover Love all we need to do is quietly come to Him.
To invite the Holy Spirit and, with a contrite heart and a humble way about us, sit and wait.
+ Strahan Coleman, Beholding: Deeping Our Experience in God
A Prayer for You in the Snowfall of 2024 Now and to Come
So whether you believe Jesus to be a fantasy, a person, or perhaps Someone more, as we continue to step into what's next in 2024, I invite you to join me in whatever storm you are embracing to take a moment on this snowy Sunday in Worcester and with a small seed (or snowflake) of faith pray to the One who is God of the holy wild. Jesus is with us, He is for us, and His love is more relentless than a New England winter to meet us, cleanse us, heal us, and make us whole.
Jesus, our Emmanuel, You are magnificent. Everything was created in You, through You, and for You. And during the course of a snowfall in the midst of cold winds and temps, I'm thankful that You are God with us. Though my efforts at shoveling will not seem like much as the snow keeps coming, Your efforts to save me will never be blown away. Though my sins are scarlet with my selfishness, apathy, and stubbornness, You wash them white as snow. Thank You for Your faithfulness to me, my family, my neighborhood, and my city. Bless Worcester tonight. May all who are working as first responders, nurses and doctors, those working the snow plows, and those providing shelter to those without it be energized, nourished, focused, and protected throughout the storm. May all who do not have a home find a shelter to lay their heads and warm food to fill their bodies. May kindness be extended to neighbors without snowblowers and may sore and injured muscles be strengthened to shovel for others who don't have the ability to clear their sidewalks and driveways. May Your Good News be demonstrated and declared as You bring renewal, Your Light in the darkness tonight. I pray all these things in the stillness, wonder, and worship because I get to pray in the name of Jesus, the One who knows, pursues, and loves joyfully. May another person come to know You, the Friend who came and laid down His life for them out of eternal love, in this way fully tonight. Amen.
New Year posts:
+ New Year Hope | Planting Seeds in the Rain and the Dark
+ New Year Wisdom | Receive & Give Healing in Jesus' Name
+ New Year Healing | Sozo Jesus, Shalom, and Kintsugi Gospel
+ New Year Laughter | Jesus Wants His Joy to be in Us Fully
+ New Year Gathering | Anticipating the Artistry of What's Next
+ New Year Epiphany | Glory and Gifts for the Joyful Journey
May God's Kingdom come, His will be done.
Que le Royaume de Dieu vienne,
que sa volonté soit faite.
愿神的国降临，愿神的旨意成就。
Nguyện xin Nước Chúa đến, ý Ngài được nên.
Jesús nuestra Rey, venga Tu reino!
🙏💗🍞🍷👑🌅🌇
Que le Royaume de Dieu vienne,
que sa volonté soit faite.
愿神的国降临，愿神的旨意成就。
Nguyện xin Nước Chúa đến, ý Ngài được nên.
Jesús nuestra Rey, venga Tu reino!
🙏💗🍞🍷👑🌅🌇
Christ is all,
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