Snow

Just seeing that word probably makes many of you cringe like it does me. It usually brings negative feelings due to the cold and extra work that usually come along with snow. Yet, since I’ve always lived in Ohio I’ve grown accustomed to being here every year.

I remember when I was a kid and I looked forward to the snow coming. I always enjoyed the way it looked as it fell. I enjoyed making snow forts and participating in snow ball fights. Those were the days weren’t they? My dad usually did all the shoveling and I just got to enjoy the spoils, so to say.

Turn the page to the present. The snow now means that I have to go outside and shovel, and that the roads probably won’t be too much fun to be on. Sure, I want snow for Christmas, but only a little to make it look nice.

Yet, the other day I started to look at snow a different way, more like the thoughts of the past. You see, the other day during the snow I had two different people help me with getting the snow off my sidewalks. I started to think about how the snow can actually bring out a sense of community in all of us. Let me explain that further:

At our last house I had a big driveway to shovel. (No, I did not, nor do I currently own a snow blower) I would always take at least 45 min to an hour to shovel that entire thing even on a light snow. I’d then take the time to at least do the sidewalks of the neighbors on either side. I didn’t do it to get praised for it or anything, but instead to help those who lived next to us. At our current location on Welton I have a lot less to shovel. I still try to do some of the sidewalks on both sides, but a lot of the time my neighbors have already done it, or someone has done it for them already and myself as well.

What an idea, people helping other people! You don’t get those acts of service as easily the rest of the year. I don’t have neighbors coming over to my house to mow the lawn or rake the leaves. Yet, those same people will be happy to use their snow blower (which use gas at over $2 a gallon) or shovel to help out others that they barely know. I actually finally met a neighbor the other day in the freezing cold as he told me to take a break as he’d do the sidewalk for me.

So, I have a new appreciation for snow. I’m starting to see it as I did a long time ago as a child. It’s a positive kind of thing. It brings neighborhoods together by giving us a common adversary. Now the question is how can we use snow to advance His kingdom? The simple act of service can lead to many an open door in the future. That neighbor you never talk to or see may be search you out in the spring to thank you for the help this winter. That could possibly lead to other subjects which can lead to you witnessing to them and helping them to find a relationship with Christ. Have you ever thought that something as simple as snow could be a witnessing tool? Think about that the next time you are clearing your driveway, as maybe that dreaded next snowfall could just be that open door you’ve been looking to get!