The Joy of ... Snow!

When I lived in Michigan, snow was a way of life. It came in the Fall, stayed into Spring, and if you lived in or visited the Upper Peninsula, you were likely to see snow in July. In the Triangle of North Carolina, snow is ... different.

We had our first snowfall today. Tomorrow is the first day of Winter, so right on time. The snow came in big, fluffy flakes and fell slowly, gently, in no rush at all. Each flake landed and disappeared. The ground is still too warm to hold such a small offering. The whole snow event  took place in the early morning, around 7 AM, and lasted 15 minutes.

My husband hurried into my home office where I was writing and pulled the blinds open. "It's snowing!" he said with the excitement of a little boy. To which I replied, "Will you look at that!" and we stood for long minutes, an arm around each other, watching.

In those moments, I experienced the Joy that Sister Wendy talks about in her Book of Meditations. She says that Joy is not constant, but flashes suddenly upon our shadows and darkness, illuminating and transforming our interior landscape. In Joy, the world becomes different, marvelous, unique.

And so it was for those few minutes this morning.

As we finish this third week of Advent, Laudete Week, the week of Joy, I pray that you find such Joy in your life. Often.

Blessings on your day!