Why I Now Love Snow!
Sunday evening it snowed. And for the first time in decades, I did not hate it. I might go so far as to say I liked it. I might have enjoyed it. It made me smile.
But not because I enjoyed the snow itself. Not because the nature of that evil, winter-embedded, effect-of-the-fall has been altered or redeemed.
No. I now love snow because someone I love smiled at it.
I am not sure why THIS smile made a difference in my too-small heart. Certainly, over the years, others whom I love have smiled at snow, and nothing in my attitude has changed. But this time it was different.
The moment that I watched my granddaughter’s smile as she experienced snow warmed my heart towards that monstrosity. The moment I watched my granddaughter’s smile as she experienced snow melted my hatred of that frozen, cold, awful useless stuff.
She loved it… and so I did, too.
While I sometimes claim independence of thought and emotional reaction, when someone whom I love loves something, it often changes my reaction to it.
She loved it… and so I did, too.
If this is true for Willa and snow and me, it is even more true for Jesus and me.
Jesus loves a lot of people that I have decided not to love. And my love of Him needs to alter my attitude towards them. While you might think I am speaking about ‘all the people of the world,’ I am not, yet, stretching my mind that far. I am speaking about Christ’s beloved bride… His beloved believers… His Redeemed.
So many of whom I don’t love. Far too many. Disagreement about political ideology, personality quirks, past offenses, present jealousies, small-mindedness… these things have given me ‘permission’ to not love so many of Christ’s children. But Jesus loves them. Jesus LOVES them. He smiles. And it needs to warm my heart.
Jesus even loves me, whom I don’t often love. I find it easy to listen to Satan’s accusations, the world’s disdain, and the memory (and presence) of my old man. And forgetting Jesus’ smile, I despise myself. But He loves me. He LOVES me. He smiles. And it needs to warm my heart.
Not because myself or these others are all that loveable. We often aren’t. Just like snow that gets under collars, causes much shoveling, chills feet and fingers, signifies winter’s misery, and is just plain horrible is not all that loveable.
But Willa loves it. And so do I.
Jesus loves you… and so do I.