First Snow

by Anita Aurit


It snowed last week, every ugly pile of soggy fall leaves covered in a blanket of white glitter. The trees looked like sugar-dusted confections. As I stood on my back porch and admired God's handiwork, I felt like a child again. The anticipation and excitement that the first snow brings always makes my heart smile. The first snow means skis, snowshoes, and warm fuzzy sweaters. It means good things to come like roasted turkey and beautiful packages under a fragrant tree. It means the celebrations of our thankfulness to God and our joy at His birth. First snow, I love it.

First snow reminds me of my walk of faith. I sometimes go through a fall season when my leaves feel brittle and fragile. I walk with Christ but somehow I seem to have fallen far behind Him on the path. Regrets and doubts fall down onto the ground in orange and yellow disarray. As I walk, they crunch under my feet, reminding me that my God is larger than any doubt or regret and yet, I still lag behind, following God much too slowly.

As I trudge along, feeling the full force of this autumn of my faith, a cool wetness touches my cheek. I look up and the sky is full of snowflakes. Sparkling crystals fall around me, covering the dry foliage on the path ahead. I look down the way and find that God is standing much closer than I had thought. I see his footprints in the freshly fallen snow and I know that I am not nearly as far from Him as I imagined. The snow falls and I smile with anticipation, knowing that as I come closer to Him, wonderful fellowship and blessings await me.

As surely as I know God is always on the path with me I know that there will be another autumn of my faith. I don't fear it, I wait to learn from it and look forward with joy to its end, to the first snow.

I love first snow.