Well we are here at home on Wednesday night and hoping that all of you made it safely home with the traffic and slippery roads.  I was out earlier today and was thinking about all those folks who call Cornerstone home who would have a much longer commute today because of the first snow of the year. Even though I have lived in Maryland now for fourteen years each winter is a constantreminder of a different perspective of winter.  When we lived in the midwest it was not unusual for us to get 80-100 inches of snow each year.  The interesting part of that is that school was hardly ever cancelled and people who grew up under those wintery conditions just adjusted and kept going. But here in Maryland it is a totally different story.  A small amount of snow can cause a huge problem for traffic and a significant snow can shut down the entire area.  It comes down to perspective.  I met a person today who had never seen snow in their life even though they had grown up in the United States, you should have seen the look on her face as she watched the beautiful flakes fall.   Winter it seems is all about what you make it and the perspective that you have going in.  I for one do not miss all the snow of the midwest, but when you see a white dusting or a small blanket of the white stuff it has a way of getting you into the mood for Christmas. Many people who have not grown up in the United States but have grown up in different countries around the world look at the snow with wonder and awe at the beauty and the cleaness of the snow.

I am reminded of the verse of scripture that compares God's saving ability to a washing that makes one whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7 "Now wash me and I will be whiter than snow." Isaiah 1:18 "Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow."  Even though I don't miss the heavy physical snow of the midwest, I am reminded of God's ability to free us and to wash us clean every time that it snows.  So when it comes to God's blessing and forgiveness, His cleansing and wholeness, over all of our lives and the lives of those we come in contact with, my prayer is "Oh God let it Snow."