Snowed In

Do you remember when you were young and snow was in the forecast how excited you would get? Thoughts of school closing, snowball fights, snowman building and sledding preoccupied your mind as you watched the skies anxiously to spot the first flake drifting down from heaven as a gift from God. When the snow arrived, it painted the whole world white. Everything looked clean and new. I can remember wanting to be the first person out of the house. The first person to make an imprint on this new world just outside my door.

Now I have grown up, married, have children and a job. Snow in the forecast no longer excites me. In fact, after a week of being snowed in with children, the last word I want to hear is "snow." Nevertheless, I sit at my dining room table watching the flakes fall, cold and steady. My children, excited to be out of school again, dance around the kitchen playing and singing to each other. My only thought is, "how much will fall this time?" Snow has lost it's appeal to me.

Maybe this reflects your relationship with Jesus. When you first heard the gospel, your heart quickened just at the sound of His name. You found yourself waiting for His return. Maybe, like a child watching the sky for snow, you looked to the heavens often, hoping to be the first to catch a glimpse of His return, the first to see this gift from God descend from Heaven.

But then you "grew up." Life has become less spiritual for you as you deal with the everyday stresses of bills, job and family. Jesus, for some reason, isn't the first thing on your mind when you wake up, and He may not be the last thing on your mind when you lay down. You can't remember the last time you looked to the skies to see His return.

Let me give you the same advice that Jesus Himself gave to the church in Ephesus in the opening chapters of Revelation: "...you have left your first love... remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first..." (Rev. 2:5-6). In other words, restore the relationship. Draw close to Him. Look to the skies again, because one day He is coming.

As you wait enjoy the blessings He has given you and glorify Him to all you meet. For now, I'm going to watch the snow fall and try to beat my kids to being the first to step in the snow.