an inconvenient snow...

Most people who have spent alot of time with me during the winter know that I hate snow. I can't stand it. It's cold, messy, and disrupts everything.  I guess this stems from one thing: it is inconvenient. It disrupts my normal activities, dictates schedules, and compromises safety. Yes, I have always thought that it was beautiful, but never had I valued the beauty of it more than the inconvenience that it brought with it...until this week. It was one of those cold nights, and I had just fed the dogs. Usually I head right in the house, especially when it is 10 degrees outside and 2 inches of snow on the ground. But for some reason I put on a couple more layers of clothing and headed back outside to just watch it snow. I sat there on the bed of the truck and for just a moment, just enjoyed the snow. It was almost as if I had to put my life and priorities on pause and just soak up the beauty and peacefulness of the moment. And that moment put such an amazing picture of what God has been trying to show me lately in focus. I just had to push pause and see it. It was the most real picture of sanctification that I had ever seen. The Lord wants to sanctify me. To cleanse me. And just like the blanket of snow covering all the lanscape around the house, He wants to cover my imperfections, my unholiness. But like the frozen condensation all around me, I have not allowed the process of justification to permeate my soul for one reason: inconvenience. It's not always easy to live by faith. In fact it's impossible. And just like my inability to control the weather, so is my inability to become the righteousness of God by my own power. And no, it may not be the most convenient lifestyle to live, but the peace He gives is more satisfying than the luxuries of this world, more beautiful than the first winter snow.