Under the Snow

I've wanted to blog for a while, but I haven't had anything I really wanted to say. Life has been slow and quiet, which I've learned to appreciate more than I ever thought possible. I'd say the most significant and interesting thing I've observed in myself lately is that I'm not angry about the pace of my life anymore. I'm not grumbling about it, although I'm still fairly confused. It's funny when God works change in us, sometimes looking back it can seem like almost nothing has changed, aside from the disposition of our hearts...which is a wonderful reminder of what He really cares about.

But what has finally prompted me to start blogging again is the wonderful snowstorm we had here two days ago. I've found myself staring out of the window for long stretches of time lately, until the sunlight reflecting back into my eyes leaves me blurry eyed and happy. Here in the mountains we don't get gray snows, the clouds always lift and for days on end you can watch the slow accumulation of animal tracks across the lawn, and watch icicles melt one drop at a time.

Nature restores me. The night of the storm I set my alarm for 7:15am so I would be the first one to go out in the new snow (that was about as early as I could manage without being grumpy). It was frigid, my hands went completely numb from holding a camera into the wind, but I couldn't help it. Everything looks different under the snow.

Then I realized as I was walking that my backyard had become a good parallel for my life these days. It's quiet, and beautiful, and really very fragile. In the middle of winter it can seem endless and you want it to be spring so badly you can hardly breath. But snow melts quickly, and there will never be another snowfall like this one again, ever.



Right now, my life is like this, and I've fallen in love with it: