A Time of Rest

Looking at the brown earth in my garden gives me a sense of quietness and rest. I don’t need to be concerned if the weeds are growing or if there is produce that needs harvesting. My days feel rather carefree and I can enjoy other pursuits. One of my favorites is watching the falling snow and covering all that brown drabness. Like today, the snowflakes drifted down and gradually piled one on top of the other.

Snow is mentioned in the Bible several times.

  • Freshly fallen snow is so clean and unstained. It covers all the mud and previous snow which has become splashed with dirt.
    Psalm 51:7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me and, and I will be whiter than snow.
    Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
  • Snow has a purpose and comes from a storehouse, how cool is that!
    Isaiah 55:10-11 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
    Job 38:22 Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or have you seen the storehouses of the hail?
    Psalm 147:16 he gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes.
    Psalm 148:8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word
  • This third group of verses are some of my favorite.
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    Snow can be dazzling and almost blinding on a sunny day after a snowfall. Can you imagine what these writers of the Bible saw as they used snow to be able to try to describe the appearance of the Ancient of Days (God the Father), the Son of Man, (Jesus), and the angel at the resurrection?
    John saw Jesus in a vision and this is how John described Jesus. He was clothed in a robe reaching to the feet and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. Revelation 1:14
    Daniel saw the Ancient of Days; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool.  His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. Daniel 7:9
    Matthew 28:2,3 describes the angel who descended from heaven. There was a severe earthquake, then he rolled the stone away and sat upon it. This is what he looked like. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.

Maybe you have some favorite verses to share about snow.

In the Bleak Midwinter

When I looked out of the window and viewed the winter landscape, the words to a more unknown Christmas Carol came to my mind, “In the Bleak Mid-Winter”. Before the “Blizzard of 2016”, the garden was brown with no color or life. It had been plowed by my good husband in November before the ground started freezing. If he had not plowed it, there would have been green, cool weather weeds growing. Brown stalks would be reminders of the frosted tomato and okra plants.
Plowing the ground is beneficial in several ways. The plow digs deep, uproots the dead plants and weeds and covers them with soil. A new beginning! How I love the feeling of a clean, new beginning. When I allow the Holy Spirit to uproot wrong attitudes in my heart and mind and repent of them and ask forgiveness which is offered by Jesus, there is a cleansing, and those ugly thoughts don’t keep poking around. A new beginning!
Plowing under the once fruitful plants allows the soil to be ready for a new season of planting. As I thought about how that relates to my life, I considered activities that were great for last season but need to be ended since they had fulfilled their purpose and were no longer bearing fruit. This is exciting to realize because I was wondering how I should be spending my time since I no longer am leading a women’s group. My schedule looked rather dull like the brown earth in my garden.
So even if the garden is rather bleak looking, it is in a state of rest. The ground is freezing and thawing which allows hard areas to break apart. So I will rest in this season and allow my spirit and soul to be prepared for the next season.