It snowed last night. I love snow! I love the feel of it. The taste of it. I enjoy watching the snow fall as I sip my hot cocoa wrapped up in a tied fleece blanket. l like the cold weather. I like winter. I don’t like driving in it or shoveling the driveway but after a bout with pneumonia a few years ago my husband doesn’t let me shovel anyway. When my kids were younger and still living at home I relished snow days as much as they did, if not more. Snow always meant a chance to put the chores aside for a few hours and enjoy the moment. Snow hid the mud, the leaves that hadn’t been raked, and looked so pretty on the trees. I went to sleep last night anticipating the view from my back door of a fresh, clean blanket of snow.

I woke up this morning to a totally different view than I expected. You see, I had a headache and didn’t have anywhere to go today so I slept in a bit. By the time I had gotten up my husband had already let the dogs out. There were track marks in the snow out my patio door where the dogs had gone out. There were track marks surrounding the borders of the fence from their running around. And then in multiple places around the yard, marring my beautiful blanket of snow was…yellow snow. The dogs had marked, and marked, and marked the snow. The beautiful snow was ruined by ghastly patches of yellow snow. And at that moment I was reminded of something by God.

My life, your life, everyone’s life is marked by patches of yellow snow. What God intended for us in the Garden was a pure white blanket of love and communion with Him. But we marked it yellow with our sin. Once marked, it would never be the same. Perfection was ruined. But here is the good news. God can fix it. He causes the sin to be washed clean through the sacrifice of His son. The snow melts and we have a clean slate. And He covers us with a fresh blanket of pure white snow through Jesus. Sure we will probably mark it up again but He just cleans the mess up again. The following scriptures give some insight into this: Isaiah 1:18. “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool”, and Psalm 51:7. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Don’t forget this important concept: We are the ones who make yellow snow of our lives. God and God alone purifies us and makes us white as snow. This season reminds me of the gift of forgiveness and salvation I have received because of what Jesus did for me on the cross. Regardless of what my back yard looks like, I know I am made right and am pure in God’s sight. If you can not say that for your own life and you want that assurance, please contact me or Tim at crowsnestministries.org or talk to your local pastor. And enjoy the snow days!