Whiter Than Snow

We finally got our Snowpocalypse, or if you prefer, Snowmageddon. All that means is that it actually snowed here in the Nashville, Tennessee area. 6 inches, in fact. I actually got a snow day.

I know those of you up north are reading this and groaning. Six inches of snow is to you what a light dusting of it is to us. Nothing. Well, even with that light dusting, people still panic and buy up all the bread and milk. The South is weird about snow.

Still, it’s been lovely to look at. I love how it covers over everything like a white blanket over a hibernating earth.

It made me think of that verse in the Psalms (or maybe in Isaiah) which goes something like this: though our sins are as scarlet, they shall be whiter than snow. At that point, the writer could think of nothing purer than freshly-fallen snow. I can’t either.

Grace is more than forgiveness for those past transgressions. It’s a covering up of them as if they had never been. It’s a clean slate and a new start. It’s a do-over that can take place at any point in your life, no matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done.

This may be a repeat, but it’s worth repeating. The beautiful part of the gospel is that it reminds us that we don’t have to be trapped by futility and chained to past failures. Though Jesus, anyone can start over. It is indeed never too late to be what you might have always been and always dreamed you could be.

Probably sooner than later, the sun will come out and all that beautiful snow will evaporate and exist only in memory and all those photos I took with my iPhone.

Grace, however, is forever.

I really love that part.

 

The Great Ice Storm of 2013??? Not So Much

I keep hearing reports about all this severe weather coming, with ice, sleet, and the occasional Abominable Snowman headed this way. Already, schools are closing and people are buying bread, milk, candles, and lanterns in bulk.

I just went outside and it’s not even freezing. My car windshield looks clear and the streets likewise are wet but perfectly clear. No snowpocalypse  yet. According to weather.com, the temperature is not supposed to go below 33 for the next 18 hours. I think what we have here is one big dud.

I may have to eat these words in the morning when I wake up and everything is covered in ice. I’m okay with that, as long as I don’t have to drive in it.

I’ve seen the way Nashvillians drive in normal weather conditions. Add in snow and ice, and it’s best to stay indoors, preferably under the bed, until the bad weather passes. I count myself among the bad drivers. I’m not a good driver on icy roads. I get too panicky and too impatient– not usually a good combination.

I predict at least one good snow this year, but just not in the next 48 hours. What I predict is more light rain and mist and absolutely no trace of ice or snow. There. You heard it from me.