Beneath the Snowbank
I rejoice at Your Word As one who finds great treasure. Psalm 119:16
We don’t get much snow building up here in Kansas. But sometimes, along a ditch or next to a shady tree, some snow can accumulate. And it reminds me of the treasures that I used to find in spring, when REAL snowbanks slowly disappear. The melt-off of snowbanks alongside the roads is mysteriously exciting. When the hard-packed snow and crunchy ice disappear there are usually treasures to be found.
Once, on an early springish day while walking along the street, I saw a wide variety of wonderful objects. They had probably been missing since January. The owners had probably given up ever seeing them again; or forgotten that they exist. And now the warm spell has brought them back.
In one yard I saw a hammer, two plastic cars, a Dr. Pepper can (empty… I checked,) a small pile of pennies, and an assortment of odd pieces of metal. What a treasure! I wished it were my yard. But all I’ve found beneath the snowbank in my yard was dirt, stones and a plastic Mountain Dew bottle. And I don’t drink Mountain Dew.
But all those freshly revealed treasures at the bottom of the snowbanks reminded me of two things.
First, humans are often like those snowbanks. Hidden beneath our dirty, unpleasant, badly behaving exteriors are treasures. While we may be more snow-covered than we like, we were originally created in God’s image. Somewhere down there is something even better than hammers and Mountain Dew bottles.
We forget that in the “winter” of our lives. And sometimes it takes a change of season for the hidden treasure to be revealed. But it is there.
This change of season is only found through God’s Messiah. When we surrender to Him, the snow can melt off… and those beautiful treasures can show up again. We can be what humans were created to be. But without the melt-off found in Christ’s presence… the treasures remain hidden.
Second, the Psalmist reminds us that God’s word is like that hidden treasure, too. Sometimes we notice the snow covering the treasure more than we notice the treasure. We notice that the Bible is long. We notice the language is more difficult than an average CNN newscast. We notice that it takes some thinking to understand what It says. We notice that understanding takes work. All those things are like snowbanks.
But underneath is some great treasure. In the Bible we find hope. In the Bible we find grace. In the Bible we find value.
All it takes is Spring. Or at least a melt off. Isn’t it time for Spring in your heart?