God in Winter: A Meditation on Finding God in the Snow

by Msgr. Charles Pope

It’s snowing in Washington and just about everywhere else! While everyone can lament what snow does to travel schedules, it is midwinter, and no one can deny that the falling snow has a magnificent and hypnotic effect. It also creates a winter wonderland.

Indeed, though not everyone likes snow, it is an amazing work of God. He takes a barren winter landscape and creates it anew. I can almost hear the Lord saying, “Behold, I make all things new!”

In the modern world, we often walk past the glory of God and hardly notice the gifts that God daily provides. I am mindful of the movie, “The Color Purple,” when the main character, “Ceilie” admits she is angry with God. Her friend “Shug” says, “I think God gets mad at us when we walk through a field and miss the color purple.”

These midwinter days,  don’t miss God’s gift. It is true, it comes at the price of weather-related hardships. But MAYBE just maybe, God can get a few of us to stop, for just a minute and rest a while, and behold his glory. Getting “snowed in” is a wonderful chance to become reacquainted with our family and even our very selves. And just looking out the window and marveling at the snow as it falls with a hypnotic and calming steadiness can be a prayer if we think of God who sends it. Wherever you are on this planet, don’t walk through life and miss the glory of God!

In the Book of Sirach, there is a beautiful and poetic description of God and the majestic work he creates even in the “dead” of Winter. Enjoy this excerpt from Sirach and spiritually reflect on the glory of God in winter.

God in Winter:

A word from God drives on the north wind.
He scatters frost like so much salt;
It shines like blossoms on the thornbush.
Cold northern blasts he sends that turn the ponds to lumps of ice.
He freezes over every body of water,
And clothes each pool with a coat of mail.
He sprinkles the snow like fluttering birds.
Its shining whiteness blinds the eyes,
The mind is baffled by its steady fall.

Sirach 43, selected verses

__________________________________________________________________

This post was originally published on Community in Mission and is reprinted here with permission. 

Image: Unsplash

Msgr. Charles Pope

Msgr. Charles Pope is currently a dean and pastor in the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, where he has served on the Priest Council, the College of Consultors, and the Priest Personnel Board. Along with publishing a daily blog at the Archdiocese of Washington website, he has written in pastoral journals, conducted numerous retreats for priests and lay faithful, and has also conducted weekly Bible studies in the U.S. Congress and the White House. He was named a Monsignor in 2005.

Stay Connected Today

Sign up to receive the latest blogs and updates straight to your inbox

Share to...