Every beginning has an end -- so they say!

I've never read a book that didn't have an ending. It may not have been the ending I was anticipating, but there was an ending. Today's blog I'm writing about is none other than the snow we've been getting that began in mid-November of 2009. It is now February 17, 2010 and it is still snowing. The pages of the "book of snow" continue. I know there has to be an end -- so they say, but it's not going to be today. The snow continues to fall. And fall. And fall.

Why is snow such a big topic, you might ask? After all, doesn't the northeast always get snow? Sure we do, but not of this magnitude. Not of this persistence. Not of this strength. Not of this length. We usually get a break inbetween blasts of the wintery white stuff. But, this time, it just continues on and one with nary a break, and every now and then you can throw in a 50-inch blast!

I guess this is a good reminder to me about life. Sometimes life's problems are like this snow. We tend to go through seasons when winter is winter -- all of the regular stuff we have to deal with. Then, there are WINTERS, the kind that give you the days of unending problems, the pile-ups of difficulties that lead to that one big blast that knocks us off of our feet for a while.

So what do we do? Well, in the case of "the snow story", I've decided to just watch it, not fight it, and on most days enjoy it. In fact, I set my alarm to get up earlier than usual this morning just so I could sip a cup of steaming tea and watch the snow falling gently from the sky. I wondered what God was thinking about all of this. Is this a gift -- a blessing? Maybe He wants us to slow down. Maybe He wants us to be more thankful for sunny days. Maybe He wants us to recognize Him as the Creator of all things -- even the snow. I know I found myself having some prayer time along with my tea time, and it felt good. I found myself counting blessings, not reminding myself of problems.

The same analogy can be made when we have "a problem pile-up" in our lives. It's so hard to do, but......maybe God wants us to slow down. Maybe we've been going full-steam ahead in the wrong direction and He wants us to stop before we fall into deep danger. Maybe our tired bodies and weary minds need a rest. Maybe He wants us to see the futility of this life and get real about things that matter -- things of eternal nature. Heavy stuff--these snow stories!!!

And endings? Who knows how anything will end? I love the element of surprise, don't you? When I read a book I hate knowing what the ending is going to be. I love books that keep me on edge right up until the final paragragh of the book. I think that's how it's going to be with this snow. There will be and end to it. When? Who knows? It could be tomorrow. It could be April. It could be June. Why fret about it? Let's just enjoy the element of surprise. We know for a fact that it's going to end. Spring always arrives -- and just at the right time, too!

About or problems in life.....it stinks when we go through the big pile-ups. And, worse yet are the 50-inch crashes that sometimes occur. But, there will be an end to those days, too. If we look we can always find a rainbow. There's never a time when spring doesn't arrive on time.

What am I saying? Hold on and ride out the storm. Every beginning has an end. We just don't know "when" or "how", but we have to walk by faith knowing that there is a gorgeous, beautiful, wonderful spring waiting for us!

Love to you all,

Clara