Snow, Snow, Snow
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By Michelle Echterling
Even
though most Regent students are still experiencing fall, in northern Canada, where I
am presently, it is showing signs of winter. Fall has come and gone and winter
has begun. Snow is in the forecast and even freshly covering the streets. For us,
winter is here. Curled up in my hotel room and looking out of my frosted window
I sipped some steaming hot chocolate. I soaked in all that I could from this
winter wonderland outside of my window. Watching the big snowflakes fall and
cover every little thing, I remembered the first time that I saw snow.
Being
from the warm south, I never fully comprehended what snow was all about. The
first and last time that it snowed at my childhood home, I was three years old.
This monumental occasion was one for my history book because snow is not a
regular thing in Mobile, Alabama. Even though I was three, I can
still remember the day so clearly. I was beaming from ear to ear, jumping up
and down, and wanting to go out side and play in this foreign, fluffy powder in
my backyard. Not having the proper clothes for winter weather, my mom put socks
on my hands and a plastic bag over the socks to keep my hands warm and dry.
Then as my parents opened the door, I raced outside and played till my lips
were blue. Looking back at the pictures, I feel as if I am again three years
old playing in the snow for the first time. If any of you have ever seen snow
fall then you know that it covers everything and within a short amount of time,
all your eyes can see is white. It can turn the darkest things into the
brightest outlooks.
From
my window in Canada,
I was reminded of Isaiah 1:18. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow." When we ask forgiveness of our sins it is as if God
covers what we have done just like the snow covers the ground. He cleanses our
soul so that we are no longer stained but instead made pure in Him. By the time
February rolls around, the snow can look brown and dirty. The reason for this
is because the city has to sand the road to prevent slipping and sliding when
walking and driving. Within a short time, the beauty that once was clean and
refreshing becomes dingy. Often, we have been washed anew in God but then over
time we allow our sins to build and quickly our insides become dingy again.
Becoming new in God is effortless but staying in His righteousness is something
that has to be maintained. Staying as white as snow is a choice that we must
make so that we can have peace and joy.
This
coming winter, when snow begins falling from the sky, remember God's loving
mercy and kindness. Even though our souls may be as red as scarlet, He has
washed us whiter that snow!
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