a last fling

These two smiling faces had a place of honor on my front porch
and proudly greeted my guests all winter.
Until yesterday afternoon when I replaced them.
The last time we had snow flurries Ruth and I joked-
maybe if I put the snowmen away Spring would arrive early.

When I went to Dollar Tree yesterday looking for two particular items
these colorful buckets and flowers screamed BUY US.
So I did.
After "arranging" the flowers I moved the snowmen. Prematurely.
It is, after all, almost spring. 

I am planning on traveling to Ohio tomorrow 

so before I left the house this morning to clean the church

I checked the weather for the next few days. 

It was flurrying when I left.

It was supposed to turn to rain while I worked.

It may be the last fling this season.

I was tempted to sit in my car to enjoy it.

Watching the snow fall when I am warm and cozy is relaxing.

Facing and going out into a cold, wet rain, 

as I anticipated doing when I was done,

is not at all appealing.

When I came out of the building I was shocked. 

Not only had the snow not turned to rain,

there was a blanket of white covering the hillside opposite the church.

I had to scrape my windows before I drove home.

And for the first time this winter it was snowing big, fat, wet flakes.

It is a good packing, snowman building snowfall.

It is a beautiful "walk and pretend you are in a snow globe" snowfall.

This is why I say I moved the snowmen prematurely.
It is still winter.
When I got home I made this little guy and brought it in the house for Xavier.
I put it in a dishpan for X to play with.
He also ate some and liked it.

This is one of my favorite photos from my yard today-
snow on my lilac branches, 
where buds are just beginning to form.
It is a reminder to enjoy the beauty of what is
and to hold onto the hope and promise
of the beauty to come.

Some of my flower bulbs are already up.
They too are a reminder.
These are tulips.
Enduring, growing, even in the snow.
Persevering.
In time, they will bloom.
But first, they are withstanding the storm.

This kind of snow also holds potential danger.

It is a heavy snow.

The boughs of the white pine in my back yard, 

boughs that held deeper snows earlier this winter,

are weighed down.

The earlier snows were dry and put no pressure on the strength of the tree.

If tree branches snap, power outages may occur.

Does that make the snow less beautiful?

I think it depends on where you stand as you watch it fall.

If I was homeless...

If I was a lineman...

If I was an emergency worker...

If I had to work outside in this or had family that did,

if I lived in an area where a power outage was likely,

I think I may look at this snow differently. 

Sometimes the experiences in our life make us view situations and circumstances differently than people around us do and that is okay. 

I want to respect life. 

I want to enjoy the beauty of life. 

I want to be as prepared as I can be for life. 

I don't want to live in fear of what might happen. 

I do not want to live in naivety of what could happen. 

So I pray.

I watch.

I practice walking by faith, in obedience.

I ask God to open my eyes-

to see the beauty

to be aware of the danger

to avoid what I need to avoid,

to embrace what I need to hold onto,

asking for courage and boldness,

wisdom and discernment,

perseverance and endurance.

I live, each day, stormy or calm,

trusting that the God who created me,

the One who has called me into an intimate relationship with Him,

will continue to provide for and sustain me through it all 

until He calls me home.