Get Real with God ~ Like Snow

I grew up in Michigan. As a kid I was quite familiar with harsh winters that seemed to start in October and last well into March. To the kids in my town, snow was a toy and we knew how to use it.

In elementary school some friends and I formed a pretty nice little business during recesses. For 25 cents we would build igloos for other children. For 50 cents we would build furniture to go inside. Our snow furniture was a big seller on the playground and we took it very seriously. We built snow arm chairs and couches that were a huge hit. My friends, Andy and Julie, would bring washcloths from home that we would wet down with hot water from another friend's thermos. We would use the hot cloths to melt and smooth our creations turning them into pretty cool icy sculptures. We spent our whole recess designing and creating in the snow, but by three o'clock each day we had to leave them behind.

Sometimes we would arrive at school the next day to find that the afternoon sun had been hotter than we had thought. The heat would leave pock marks in our creations that we'd have to fill in and sand down with warm water to smooth out again.

Sometimes a rotten high school student would pass our snow furniture and kick them down to ugly, formless piles of snow. We would spend entire recesses correcting the damage and re-building.

Other times we would ruin a structure ourselves by putting too much weight on them. Again we would re-build. This was, after all, our wintertime passion.

I think God takes the same approach to our lives. He passionately pours His energy into perfecting us and building us in His image. Then life happens and, like with the sun on our snow furniture, a piece of us starts to melt. Like the sun, you can't stop these things from coming. Think of a trial you didn't ask for and didn't invite, something that happened naturally. Maybe the death of a loved one. God shows up in the circumstance and He fixes the hurt. He wipes away the tears and makes a clean surface.

There are also trials that are forced on us by the world we live in. Think of the pesky high school student. Some people just seem to enjoy knocking down our faith. Once they're done with us, it might look pretty bleak. Our confidence might resemble the snowy rubble. God shows up again though, right on time. He starts from the ground up and rebuilds us better than we were before. He makes a miracle that no one dares to mock.

Then there are times when we blow it ourselves. We apply too much pressure and we fall short of God's plan. We feel like failures too broken to ever be fixed. Once again, God comes on the scene. We really think that He'll just throw his hands up in disgust and count us a total waste of time, but He stays. He kneels down and He picks up the pieces and he gets to work. While He corrects our mistakes He speaks to our hearts and reminds us of His plans for us. He extends forgiveness to us and promises to wipe away our failure and totally forget it!

Our God is passionate about His creation: us. He wouldn't leave us in destruction. That's a pretty nice thought.

In Psalm 51:7-10 NKJV it says:

(7)Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

(8)Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

(9)Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.

(10)Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me."

If you doubt that God is capable or willing to clean up your mess check out 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." Isaiah 1:18 NKJV.

That sounds like an amazing offer doesn't it?