Even now, a blanket of white covers the ground outside and the snow is still falling. For those of you north of the Mason-Dixon line, snow is not a big deal. It may even be annoying and unwanted. But here in Tennessee, even the possibility of a white Christmas is magical.

Right now, the temperature is an icy 13 degrees (Farenheit, not Celsius, for the record). It looks like those freezing temps will be sticking around until at least Tuesday, so the chances of December 25 being snowy are looking good.

I can only think of 2 or 3 times in my entire life where it has snowed on Christmas Day. Or in this case, there has been snow still around on Christmas Day. But here we are. Almost.

I believe that at some point between 6 and 7 am, the temperature will drop to -1. That’s cold no matter where you live, but especially in Middle Tennessee. I can’t remember ever seeing negative temperatures that weren’t wind chill numbers. This will be the actual temperature. Yikes.

Maybe the snowy cold will cause people to slow down and to remember the real reason for December 25 once more. It’s not the presents or packaging, the decorations or the parties. It’s not the hectic bedlam of mad dashing around that we’ve turned it into. The first Christmas was very simple, without any fanfare or hype. It was a stable, one tired carpenter, one beyond weary teenage mother, and one swaddled infant who just so happened to be the Word made flesh.

Maybe this snow will help us to get back to that infant in the manger who took on flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood and is still the only Hope of the world.