“Snow Way I’m Moving My Car”
January 14, 2011
SNOW is a FOUR letter word that doesn’t provoke our best thoughts, especially if your neighbor owns a snow blower that seems to work best during your best hours of rest-after midnight and before six in the morning. Some snow blowers keep morning hours and make “mourning” hours.
For most, SNOW DAYS, a double four letter word phrase, brings a GIFT.
SNOW DAYS = PLAY DAYS, as in, SHUN WORK: STAY HOME.
And if you’re a teacher, your eyes were glued to the weather cancellations scrolling across the TV screen, keeping your fingers crossed and pleading with the SNOW GODS to please! Please! Please! Dump enough crystals to cancel school even if it wakes up the overly eager snow blowing neighbor.
But SNOW has a DARK SIDE! What is it about SNOW that brings out the worst in some of us? And there’s a lot of “some of us” with SNOW this week. Every state but Florida has snow!
January 12th was the third snow in the still very new 2011 year. While I didn’t have to contend with snow blower insensitivity, I did have some neighborhood challenges. In my development, we are required to move our cars from the parking spaces in front of our homes to the spaces across the way so the SNOW PLOW can clear the snow from our parking spot.
However, some refuse to move their cars for many reasons they think they can justify. “I’ll take care of it myself.”; “Why should I move my car? The plow will only dump more snow in my spot, thus making my move unnecessary.” So I felt some remorse for my neighbor who happens to be the president of the association and who is aware of the cost of the snow plow for our neighborhood. She proceeded to knock on the doors of the steadfast and unmovable, pleading with them to move their cars to the other side. Sad for her, people remained steadfast in being unmovable.
But I had been reading about Jesus telling Peter to demonstrate his love for Christ by tending to His lambs and sheep. And I was pondering how I could practically LIVE out such tending. The snow gave me the idea to tend. I knew that if I would simply brush off the snow from all the cars, it would be an invitation of sorts for my neighbors to move their cars. Indeed, it worked like a charm. Steadfast neighbors moved their vehicles to the other side. SNOW PLOW CAME and WENT AWAY ‘til NEXT SNOW!
And I put into practice the principles of LAMB tending and showing my LOVE for Christ.
SNOW = WAYS to TEND and SHOW LOVE
NEXT SNOW—why not DENY SELF and TAKE up your broom! (SV)
Looking for more words? Read John 21:15-17 while sitting inside enjoying the SNOW outside.