{"id":5297,"date":"2020-02-02T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T15:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5297"},"modified":"2020-02-03T19:08:17","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T01:08:17","slug":"snow-is-amazing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5297","title":{"rendered":"Snow Is Amazing"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Journal of Joy: Things that make my heart smile\u2026<\/em>
\nBy Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I love snow!<\/p>\n

Now don\u2019t get me wrong. I don\u2019t like to shovel snow. I don\u2019t like to drive in snow. I don\u2019t like to snow ski. I don\u2019t like building snow forts or having snow ball fights. I don\u2019t even like to be cold \u2013 although Lord knows I can take cold weather better than hot.<\/p>\n

So what do I love about snow? Well, I love to see it drift to earth. I love to watch it land on lawns, trees, and hillsides. I love to look at different snowmen \u2013 each formed with loving hands. I love the sound of children\u2019s laughter when they find out school has closed for the day. I love to remember past snow moments.<\/p>\n

Here are a few that come to mind.<\/p>\n

I grew up in St. Louis, but the rest of our family lived about three hours away in the foothills of the Ozarks in southeast Missouri. We are talking dirt and gravel roads. So we would affectionately say, \u201cLet\u2019s go to the country.\u201d When I was ten we took one such trip on Christmas Eve to Grandpa\u2019s house. It was a typical stark winter. Grandpa lived on a hill and from the upstairs bedroom where I slept, I could see the countryside for miles around.<\/p>\n

My parents tucked this tired little girl into bed to sleep so they could do the \u201cSanta\u201d thing. They decorated a tree, put presents under it, and hung my stocking by the fireplace. I woke earlier than everyone else. Instead of creeping downstairs, I looked out the window and was amazed at what I saw. For miles and miles and miles, over hill and dale, there was a soft blanket of white, like a picture postcard. I still remember that feeling of wonderment. Sure, I had seen snow before and played in it, but this was different. It felt like I was in a fairy tale.<\/p>\n

Another time, while I was in college, I had an early meeting. It was still dark as I stepped out of my dorm and found myself surrounded by virgin snow. Trees were laden with layers of fluff and reflections from the streetlights made it all sparkly. My wonderment returned.<\/p>\n

Last year our family decided to rent a cabin in Tahoe for Thanksgiving. My ten-year-old granddaughter Sophia was hoping for snow but none was forecast. However, Thanksgiving morning we gazed up at the chalet windows above and saw tall fir trees supporting layers and layers of snow, and more was coming down. The day was spent with Sophia sledding, building snow people, and having snowball fights with the family. Not with me, though! I enjoyed it all through the window sipping hot cocoa. But I loved it!!!!<\/p>\n

I think snow is one of the most amazing phenomena in God\u2019s creation. Each time I see snow floating down from heaven, I smile. God made the snow to fall to the earth (Job 37:6). God made winter and summer (Psalm 74:17). And there are lessons we can learn from each season.<\/p>\n

Scientists say no two snowflakes are alike. Each little snowflake is one-of-a-kind, designed by God. Likewise, each person we meet is one-of-a-kind, formed by God\u2019s design. No two fingerprints, DNA, or voice patterns are alike. Each person is unique and so is each snowflake. That gives us a little something to think about when we\u2019re scraping it off our windshield or shoveling it off the walkway. It doesn\u2019t make the task easier, but it does reveal God\u2019s glory.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Lord, thank you for snow. How I love to see it fall to earth! How I treasure the memories that fill my soul when I think of snow! Each season exposes me to different facets of Your wondrous creation. You made summer and You made winter. Each has a purpose. Help me not to miss the lessons I can learn from You as I live through each season in life.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Journal of Joy: Things that make my heart smile\u2026 By Barbara Dahlgren I love snow! Now don\u2019t get me wrong. I don\u2019t like to shovel snow. I don\u2019t like to drive in snow. I don\u2019t like to snow ski. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5297\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}