Remaining Open to New Possibilities

From one of my favorite authors...

"YOU WAKE UPON a winter morning and pull up the shade, and what lay there the evening before is no longer there—the sodden gray yard, the dog droppings, the tire tracks in the frozen mud, the broken lawn chair you forgot to take in last fall. All this has disappeared overnight, and what you look out on is not the snow of Narnia but the snow of home, which is no less shimmering and white as it falls. The earth is covered with it, and it is falling still in silence so deep that you can hear its silence. It is snow to be shoveled, to make driving even worse than usual, snow to be joked about and cursed at, but unless the child in you is entirely dead, it is snow, too, that can make the heart beat faster when it catches you by surprise that way, before your defenses are up. It is snow that can awaken memories of things more wonderful than anything you ever knew or dreamed."  

-Sudden Snow, originally published in Telling the Truth by Frederick Buechner

I absolutely LOVE that post by Frederick Buechner! I had one of those mornings... 

I woke up worn out from the activities of the previous 3 weeks - helping our 92 year old parent transition from a home of 25+ years to a new apartment in a retirement community. We've all been trying to figure out and gently navigate the world of short term memory loss & dementia. That made this "time of changes" more challenging than we anticipated. Going through a home full of possessions from years & years filled me with joy one minute and left me emotionally drained another. BUT, when I awoke and looked out the window that one morning... the new fallen snow brought a special peace - the kind of peace that passes understanding.

Sometimes we just need something to distract us from the reality of this broken world. Sometimes we need to be reminded that each day holds a new opportunity... a chance to restart... a reminder of the faithfulness of God.

Whether it's an unexpected new-fallen snow in the winter or the sound of birds heralding the rising sun in the spring, our hearts and eyes should remain open to new possibilities.