A Light Dusting

Last night, my daughter sent me a picture of the first snow fall of the season where they live in Oklahoma.  This morning as we text back and forth she said that the countryside was covered in a beautiful light dusting of snow about an inch thick.  Our conversation brought back memories of the first snow fall we encountered when we lived there back in December of 2006.  That particular storm was much stronger than yesterday’s, as it left about six or more inches of the white stuff on the ground and basically shut down just about everything for the day.  My school was cancelled and since I already had the day off from work, I decided to enjoy the moment and played in the snow with my family all day long!

I always thought that the winters in Oklahoma were a little bland.  When the weather got cold, most of the landscape went dormant and the countryside turned into a non-descript shade of brown.  This was totally different than what I was used to in Northern California.  In our home town, the winter season brings the rains which turn the hills that go brown in the heat of the summer into lush green scenes of pastoral beauty.  We do not have the extremes in the four seasons or the snow.  A simple, light dusting of snow in Oklahoma though, like my daughter told of today, would quickly change the view from flat and drab into a winter wonderland. (As long as it didn’t last too long!  As you can tell, I am not overly fond of the snow!)

The thought of how a little bit of snow could totally change the atmosphere got me thinking some more about being in God’s presence.  This morning as I was writing down additional notes from I Thessalonians 1:3, I took the liberty to leave out a few words and personalized the verse by saying: “In God’s presence I never forget that my faith is active, that my love is working hard, and that my confidence in my Lord Jesus Christ is cheerfully enduring.”  (I was using the Gods Word translation as my basic text.)  If you consider Paul’s life and then his encouragement to the congregation at Thessalonica, I really don’t think that this is changing the overall intent of the verse because what I wrote down is true.  When I sense the presence of the Lord, I can also sense that my faith is growing strong, that I am full of His love and that my confidence in His word is without doubt.

Like I mentioned in the blog yesterday, just a few moments in His presence was all it took to enlighten and energize my whole day.  It’s just like how a little bit of snow can change the whole outlook on the countryside around a city.  Now that’s something to think about!  Maybe it’s time to stop right now, enter in and allow the presence of the Lord to make an attitude adjustment in your life.  It could be just what you (and those around you…) need to totally uplift and energize the atmosphere. Let me know how it goes…  Stay tuned and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”