Perspective

Southwest Virginia hasn’t seen a winter this cold and snowy for many years. We’ve been having the kind of weather that wreaks havoc with my heating bills and, not to get political, kills the whole global warming argument for me.

Weather like this demands that I change the way I think about everyday living. For instance, if it snows during the night will I be able to get to work in the morning? Will I lose electricity, and if so, how will I stay warm? What will I eat and drink in the interim? Once I have all of the questions answered in my head (Hannah’s jeep until she goes back to Radford…the woodstove and a beautiful load of dry cherry from Larry…canned food and bottled water, or wine if I’ve planned really well), I can rest a little easier. But in spite of the fact that we rarely think about food and shelter most days, it gets down to basics really quickly when the weather gets bad.

Virginians also have short memories, and forget how to drive in snow. The first really bad storm of the season came exactly a week before Christmas and it took me seven hours to make the 25 minute trip from work to home. At one point I’d been stuck on the bridge over the north fork of the Holston River for hours and I was down to less than a quarter of a tank of gas. I had one bar on my cell phone, my windshield wipers had quit working, and I knew the electricity was already off at my house. I was less than 2 miles from home, but it may as well have been 2,000. Eventually I took a leap of faith and made it to our friends’ house, where Hannah was, by taking the river road. I was there for almost 24 hours and can’t remember when I’ve been so thankful for a fire and friendship. You could say it changed my perspective.

On New Year’s Day I had another perspective altering experience, this time the result of a conversation I had with my friend Steve. Regular readers will remember Steve, who bikes around the country witnessing to Jesus’ love and faithfulness to everyone he meets. I’m always a little ashamed of my self-centeredness and the ease with which I take the gifts in my life for granted when I talk with Steve. But it’s never because he makes me feel that way. In fact, he’s always truly glad to hear from me or see me, and, because he loves to talk, he usually fills our conversation with praises to God for blessings I would surely miss…a new bike and cart in which to carry all of his earthly belongings…an extended stay in a shelter in Dalton, Georgia….a network of friends who keep track of him and his travels, and who keep him in their hearts and prayers.

I’m thankful to be in that network, because I have a connection with Steve now and always want to know how he’s doing. But selfishly, I’m also thankful for the perspective knowing him gives me. I have much but am often ungrateful, while he has little, and is always grateful.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. – Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ… – Colossians 4:2-3 (NIV)

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire. – Hebrews 12:28-29

Father God, please continue to bless Steve richly, giving him food and shelter in the cold weather, strengthening his faith, opening the door for him to share your message...and Lord, please shake up my perspective anytime you see fit.

Snow Days

There’s nothing much more exciting to a kid that waking up to a fresh blanket of snow on the ground. And if it gets you out of school that day, then all the better. In fact, I was once informed by my Hannah that snow on a weekend or holiday is just a waste.


Little kids can’t wait to get out and play in the snow…then come back inside to warm up…then go back out to build a snow man…troop back in for lunch…head back out sledding…drag in for hot cocoa and to dry out… The whirlwind of coats, scarves, hats, earmuffs, gloves, mittens, and boots is dizzying. I imagine snow days are hard on stay-at-home parents.

Teenagers, on the other hand, embrace a snow day like their pillow as they crawl back into their cave-rooms for another five or six hours of sleep. It’s a little like a bear deciding hibernation isn’t over yet, and they can be just about as grouchy. They’ll even tell you their brains are hard-wired to need more sleep, but I’m not buying it.

I remember being at Radford, where falling snow triggered much giddy celebration and general craziness. Of course, it doesn’t take much to get the festivities going on a college campus. My son Ben is actually taking a skiing class for college credit at ASU next semester, so he’ll be all about snow this winter.

As you age, your opinion of snow continues to change and how you feel about snow as an adult typically depends on how likely it is to inconvenience you. When you get a real job, with all that usually entails—house, job, family, pets, etc.—snow can be downright annoying. I watch the weather with great interest these days, wondering if getting to work will be an issue and, to a lesser degree, if I’ll be able to wear jeans to the office tomorrow. Are we only expecting a “skiff” of snow, or should I lay in supplies, just in case?

Even for an adult though, snow on the weekend can be a manifestation of grace…a wonderful excuse to stay at the house and enjoy a rare chance to really rest before the work week madness repeats itself. A Saturday spent inside where it’s warm can be a blessing when you spend the day watching flurries in the woods outside.

Occasionally snow mirrors my life circumstances, like when I’m trying to navigate through a driving snowstorm that pummels my windshield like problems and worries that just keep trying to chip away at my faith. I feel like I’m hurtling through space, pushing through a dark tunnel …and the light at the end is nowhere in sight.

Other times I feel as though I’m living my life in a glass snow globe, subject to being picked up and shaken against my will until the blinding snow has me feeling my way around a circle of belief. I can’t see a thing, but if I hold firmly to my foundation the snow will eventually settle and I will be able to see again….maybe even more clearly than before.

My sweet friend Connie has a beautiful collection of nativity snow globes. We protect our childhood image of that first Christmas, fleshing it out in our imagination and daring anyone to suggest it may have been different. But Mary and Joseph likely felt as though they were blinded by a veritable snow squall of problems, with no shelter in sight besides a dirty, smelly stable. And the deity of their son demanded that they step out of their comfort zone and into the spotlight to share Him with the world. Talk about God shaking up your snow globe.

Connie once also confessed to me, “One step out of today and I’m in a world of trouble.”

I’m not urging you to step out ahead of God. But don’t be afraid to step out of your globe. Even though we may sometimes feel constrained in our own spheres of influence, that’s not our reality. True, we’re each dealing with our own problems, insecurities, and weaknesses, but we are not trapped inside glass walls. We’re afforded the freedom of moving beyond our walls to reach out and touch others with Christ-like hands. We are free, indeed!

“Like the coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the spirit of his masters.” ~ Proverbs 25:13