I’m sitting here, gazing out the window, watching lazy flakes drift to the ground, gently highlighting the forms of dark spruce across the field. It seems strange that they’re forecasting temperatures above freezing for the next couple weeks, which means our world of white may soon be turning to soggy brown. But it’s March, after all, that indecisive in-between month that (where I live) is never quite winter, never quite spring.
With all this uncertainty, then, it seems like I’d better slip in this last ode to the beauty of winter before it’s too late—and with it, excerpts from a most appropriate psalm. 
“Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting…
…He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly…
…He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes…
…He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold?…Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 147:1, 15-17, 20)
If you get a chance and need something guaranteed to lift your spirits (who doesn’t?), slip out your Bible and take a moment to read through this psalm in it’s entirety—I’ll just say that it’s not only about snow and ice, and it’s pretty magnificent!
The wind comes out after a snowstorm—and what results is a whole landscape of constantly shifting patterns and intricate designs highlighted beautifully by the light and shadow of a sunny day.
The invisible wind and it’s artistic work, reminds me of this passage where Jesus Himself pictures from nature the most wonderful transformation ever to happen to man:
If you’ve ever stood on the shore of Lake Superior on a summer day, you know the feeling. Waves crashing on the rocks at your feet, sending spray high into the air, vast expanse of water stretching to meet the sky on the horizon. It’s big; you’re small. It’s a magnificent feeling.
The trail was very icy, so we didn’t go far. Instead we went along cautiously until we found a spot with a good view, and then stood still to take in the magnificence of it all. I couldn’t help thinking of Psalm 93 as I watched to the blue-gray waves crash on the rocks below us.
…The seas have lifted up, LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves…
…Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea– the LORD on high is mighty. Your statutes, LORD, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days.” (Psalm 93)
Sometimes, in all the wonderful hustle and bustle that December can be, it’s good to take a walk alone in the woods to listen to the stillness…
to be startled and then delighted when a deer goes leaping across the trail mere feet in front of you…
to stand and watch the late afternoon sun glint through bits of ice on twiggy branches, like hundreds of cut glass ornaments hung for Christmas…
to deeply breathe in crisp cold air and be glad for warm new mittens…
Rejoicing Hills 