Snow Day

Today is a snow day here in the Northwoods. Everything seems to have slowed down or come to a halt. Businesses have closed. Events have been cancelled. Even the hardiest of school systems have shut down for the day.   

The huge snowflakes appear to be falling from the sky in slow motion. The slippery roads that wind through the woods are begging, even commanding our world to be still.   

And pay attention to what’s coming next.   

I’ve had two conversations this week, with two different women. Women who don’t know each other and live a thousand miles apart. In these two separate conversations, on two different days, both have said the same thing to me. This is my queue to start paying attention to what comes next. Both wise women have separately, yet same-ly, given the challenge for us to be women of forgiveness and peace.  

Forgiveness. Peace.   

What does that look like?   

The thick blanket of white fresh snow today is a reminder of the verse “though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”  

A blanket of forgiveness offers a fresh, clean start – while the snow-covered winding roads beckon us to move forward. Not to move forward in a rushed and chaotic manner, but to proceed carefully and thoughtfully. One step at a time. One bend in the road at a time.   

And to be as quiet as the falling snow so that we may hear the whisper of what’s coming next.

(Originally published January 11, 2018)