“…He might show the immeasurable riches of
his grace in his kindness to us…” (Eph.
2:7) [emphasis added]
Recently we had a guest stay with us from one of the great
sunny states in the south. Shortly after
meeting her she shared with me that the last time she had seen snow was when
she was 3 years old. She
really didn’t remember it at all and wanted to see it so badly.
I shared with her that snow was in the
forecast while she was staying with us and her face lit up with joy! Unfortunately the forecast changed. The snow got pushed back in the weekend and
wasn’t supposed to start until Sunday evening, well after she would be on her
way south.
I sat in Holy Hour Sunday
morning, the last day she was here, looking out of our windows at the grey clouds across the horizon and a
prayer welled up from within me, “Lord, I know it’s not supposed to snow until
tonight but you can make it snow whenever you like. Could you please make it snow so that our
guest can see it?”
We finished Morning
Prayer and I went on with my routine to open some window blinds to let in a
little light into the house. As I did I
saw the tiniest and most delicate snowflakes I have ever seen, falling
gently from the sky. I practically ran
down to the dining room where all of our guests had gathered in order to share
the news! To my surprise all of the
windows in the dining room were still closed, so no one knew it was
snowing!
I took our guest by the arm,
opened the door, and led her outside.
As
she saw the snow she gasped in awe and delight and then stood there
speechless. As a tear slid down her face
I slid back inside so she could spend this special moment alone, with just her
and the Lord.
It continued snowing for
about 20 minutes or so, the length of our breakfast, and then quit. It didn’t snow the rest of the day. The snow might have come to an end but the
smile on our guest’s face remained throughout the day as she recalled the
incredibly personal gift she had received.
Sometimes the best gifts come in small packages, as in this case, in the
smallest of snowflakes. For me, this was
a tangible, real life example of God’s inexhaustible generosity and His desire
to shower us with His personal love!
Lord, thank you for the ways you see and fulfill what brings delight to
our hearts.
This is so awesome! Reminds me of when Jesus gave Saint Therese snow on her entrance to the novitiate/veiling ceremony (correct me if I'm wrong; I know it happened at some point!). Our Creator loves us so uniquely!
ReplyDeleteIndeed sometimes great gifts come in small packages; we hardly notice them at all. But one thing is sure, God fulfills everything that brings joy to our heart. The best prayer I remember from childhood is "Open my eyes Lord; I want to see Jesus. Open my ears Lord; I want to hear Jesus..."
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