Yesterday it snowed heavily all day long. It took a short break here and there and the sun peaked through the clouds here and there, giving me hope that the world would once again be how I like it - warm and sunny.
In the evening, after most of the people had left their jobs and were on the drive home, perhaps already tasting a warm dinner in their mind, we headed to a friend's house. They live about 35 minutes away and of course it was dark and still snowing. The evening was filled with laughter and fun just as we have grown to expect, an evening well worth the drive. Nearly six hours later, we jumped in the car and headed home. By then, the roads were less busy and the noise of the world was muffled by the many inches of fresh snow.
Seven minutes from home we stopped at a red traffic light. I was tired and happily the passenger thus giving me the opportunity to watch the scenery and contemplate what I saw. I looked to my right and up at the light that illuminated the street and eateries along that part of the road. We were sitting in front of a local pizza place that had been closed for hours and now rested for the next day of hungry guests.
As I looked up at the light, the snow fell steadily and without obstruction. It was bright enough for me to notice every flake within my line of sight. Each flake unique, special and without a duplicate, fell with a purposeful descent. Each one on a different path, each one falling to the same destination, each taking a slightly different route. Each flake reaching the ground at a slightly different moment, each descent part of it's life mission. Each one doing what it was here to do.
I watched as the flakes seemed to sparkle with life. They glittered and glowed as they fell. Their fall was not a rush but a steady, almost controlled approach to their final destination. I was amazed by the beauty. It was as if God had opened a box of glitter and was gently shaking it, allowing a certain amount of flakes to fall at a time. They all came from the same place. They all traveled the space between the clouds and the earth together and all collected on the ground completing their mission.
As they lay there together, their sparkle impacted the world around me in a more powerful way than any one could have done on its own. Alone they were flakes measured in fractions of inches, together they were snow measured in inches and even feet. The effect was glorious.
Their journey had been fearless, purposeful, without worry or anxiety. They fell, swaying back and forth, determined to reach the ground but not in any particular hurry. A gust would blow them left or right but it did not change their plan. No big deal, they simply fell reaching a little different place than they had targeted earlier. The wind that blew them off their original course did not stop them from their destination, it merely redirected them. They did not scream or cry because their course was changed, they continued to fall, still sparkling, still glowing. They took their course change in stride and kept moving downward to cover the ground like jewels that sparkled in the night.
They started as precipitation high in the sky eventually changing into snow flakes due to the cold winter air. They were all jammed together ready to be launched on their journey. When the time was just right, they were set free to float to the ground. They fell with a steady drop, dazzling to the eye below, set free to make their way to the ground. They had once been part of something much bigger. They had become individuals and then at mission's end, had been reunited into that group again to one day melt. Their creation, journey and end complete. The perfect cycle done.
As I sat in the car, what I witnessed was framed by the size of the window and I wondered if God could have imagined looking out the window of His enormous home to the earth below. I wonder if He saw our creation, journey and destination as simple as that of the snowflake? I wondered if He wished we would allow our journey to happen without anxiety or fear? Could He possibly say, "I wish they would just let life happen. I wish they would enjoy the journey. I wish they would trust Me when I allow the winds to blow causing their course to change. If only they could see that in some way they all come from the same place and that they all journey together. They journey all as people, all the same yet all different, all special and all very unique. Can they not see that their beginning is just a small part of life and that their ending destination is again a very small part of life? The biggest most rewarding part of their life is the journey. It is filled with unexpected course changes, difficulties and wonder. As you float through life, take the time to look around as a snowflake might. See wonder and amazement in every direction. Feel the exhilaration as your destination grows closer and your journey reaches completion. Wow, what a glorious ride!"
Life is not about where any of us started and it is not about where any of us end up. We all start somewhere and we all surrender life in a similar way. We can do nothing about our starting point. Likewise, we can do nothing about when we breath for the last time. The only thing we have been given freedom in is our journey.
The treasure of life is in our journey. The excitement of life is in our journey. All to often, we worry, fret and waste our days being concerned with what lies ahead. God is in each of our journeys and He is in control. If we put our trust in Him, we can float through this life adjusting to winds and storms, all the while enjoying the ride. If life was a straight drop to our ends, it might be boring. If it was filled with negativity, it would also be boring. But the good, the bad, the boring and the exciting all mix together to create a life filled with unexpected trials and wonder. We never know what is waiting around the next turn. Again, it is the journey that brings joy.
As I watched the snowflakes fall, it was evident that there was a time limit to their journey much as there is to ours. You and I have been given a life to travel from start to finish in the blink of an eye. Let's not waste it, let's enjoy the journey. Each day will come and go and we never know what we will experience. Exciting, yes?
So let's love those around us and contribute to one another's journey in a way that will make their journey wonderful. Let's trust that God knows what is going on and is in control.
Love one another. Love life and love the journey.