What is it about a December Snow that feels so magical?
I have often, well every December, why a snow during Advent makes us so much more happy. I think I have it today. I was pausing from my early morning rush to start a Monday with my cup of coffee in hand, when I peeked out the window to see the flurries coming down. The first snow of the year. So majestic, pure white, in the dim crack of dawn light that signals a heavy clouded sky.
I wondered if our traditional school friends would be delayed or would their school be closed. Would it be seen as a much needed pit stop from the high speed track we put ourselves on to get too much accomplished before the much anticipated Christmas Day? Every year, us over reaching moms say, "Next Year I will take time to enjoy the season instead of running myself ragged!" But does it happen? No, we think just one more batch of cookies or fudge then I will be done. This too is not accurate because we suddenly remember one more person we forgot to shower gifts upon. Dreading the feeling of being left out, we race to make another loaf of sweet bread and a pan of fudge to say, "I love you and enjoy the season."
Then the snow comes. This forced condition to cause our slowing down. If schools are closed or delayed, it becomes an omission of the morning scurry. There is time to eat without choking on a bit to big in order to throw one's coat on to race to the awaiting transportation. Roads will have slower traffic in order to keep people safe on slick roads. But these slower paced moments make us see the world around us; the decorated houses, the dusting of white in ever green trees, or in the case of our small town, the snowflake lights strung across the power lines.
Slowing ourselves down so we can remember the magic of Advent so prevalent in the eyes of a child. The overflowing of love, hope, and faith in what is to come. As adults, we put too much focus on getting all the details completed and miss the point of the building of the season. It is not a race to fall exhausted on the sofa in our PJ's all day for a much needed break on Christmas. Each year we say, not again, but society pulls at our ideals of what a good showing will entail. Something, we, as simple human beings, have difficulty in taming; an unreachable desire to have the picture view.
Then God steps in to give us a little nudge back to the point of it all. The snow, with it's peaceful drifting to the ground, forces us to pause for a moment. It covers the distractions of society. It focuses our sensors back to the people we hold most dear whither it be sacrificing the 4-wheel drive vehicle for Dad to arrive safely to work or wrapping another scarf around a child to keep them warm as they trek into the wild unknown. But for others, it could be just a moment to sense the calm of a slow tumbling of flakes as we take in a long sip of a warm cup feeling all cozy wrapped in a blanket. A magical moment feeling time can stand still. A blessing, a little break from hurried agendas, a moment to notice the beauty of it all.
