Saint Columbkille Parish: snow

Friday, February 20, 2015

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Why Now?

It’s May, and there’s snow outside.

I know that snow this time of year isn’t completely unheard of in our region. But sometimes you just have to shake your head.

Stranger things have happened recently. Who would have imagined that we would have two popes alive at the same time?

At times it feels like we’re living in the Twilight Zone. We live in an age that brings us amazing breakthroughs in science and technology. But on a deeper level, our culture, the culture of death, seems to be moving us backward. The strong current of evil in a supposedly advanced age seems unusual, like snow in May. But the evil shouldn’t surprise us. It should challenge us.

God placed us in this precise time in history, in this location, for a reason. What would He have us do?

Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this from Susan Szalewski about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Finding Joy and Awe in Snow

Snow! Yay!

I wrote that sarcastically.

I’m like a lot of adults who don’t like snow because we have to drive in it, shovel it and sometimes slip and fall in it. But I’ve decided to take a more positive look at snow, to marvel at it, and try to become more childlike in my view. Snow is, of course, part of God’s creation, which glorifies Him and teaches us something about His Kingdom and His endless glories.

This is how the snow speaks to me of God:

The grandeur of His beauty. The magnificence of a glistening snow over everything in sight is undeniably beautiful, even if we shiver while we admire it.

His perfection, even in the smallest things. How amazing in detail is a tiny snowflake. But we tend to overlook it because it is so small. We have to stop and take a look or we miss out. That is true about most of the little things in life. We need to pause to appreciate them. The snowflake also is under appreciated because it becomes lost among the millions of other flakes that fall with it. Yet it is unique. No other is like it. The snowflake is our reminder of our uniqueness in the eyes of God. We have a special beauty, goodness and importance -- our unique way to glorify God.

His hidden mysteries. The cold starkness of snow and winter hides deeper realities. Winter is a season of our lives, especially our spiritual lives. The sunshine, like God’s consolations, sometimes seems far away. He may ask us to go dormant for a while, to rest in Him. But during this time, He makes us grow and refreshes us. There can still be peace and beauty in this part of our lives, just as there is peace and beauty in the bare trees and sharp air of winter. And when everything in nature is stripped bare, we can see things we never noticed before.

His closeness to children. Spend some time with children in the snow. They will remind you that snow can be fun and teach you how to wonder in His creation.

My kids always love the snow mountain that plow trucks create at the center of our cul-de-sac. One son discovered that the snow was shaped into a chair at the top, his throne as king of the mountain. Moments earlier he showed me a spot in our yard where the snow looked like dragon scales.

Lord, give me the eyes of a child, to find awe and joy in everything! Help me to see You!

Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this from Susan Szalewski about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays.