Winter Wonderland

The weather in Houston has been crazy. In less than 12 hours it has gone from 80 degrees to 40 degrees! Last night I came home and it was 76 outside I woke up this morning and it has not risen above 45 degrees. I can’t remember a Fall in Houston that has been this extreme in temperature from week to week. All this to tell you that a couple of weeks ago it snowed in Houston. The earliest snow fall ever recorded. It does not snow but about every 5 years in Houston and usually it doesn’t stick or snow for very long, but a couple of Wednesdays ago it snowed heavily for Texas, about 2 inches. It was a momentous occasion, so much so, we ended our usual Wednesday night youth group program early to enjoy the falling snow. We had snowball fights, built a snowman, made snow angels, and only had one angry passerby call the cops on us as one student thought it would be funny to hit a car with a snowball. sigh. Thankfully, we caught the student and put an end to that before anything too serious happened.

It was incredible to watch the students enjoy the snow. They were hilarious and acting as though they had never seen snow before, but i guess it is only about once every 5 years that it snows in Houston and once in a decade that the snow actually sticks on the ground. So I guess I can understand the excitement. Sadly, I found myself having a difficult time being excited about the snow at first. I think last January while in China I was given my fill of snow, especially, the day I spent at the Great Wall. It was so cold. I just remember my toes and hands going numb and not being able to get warm. I decided then that I really didn’t like snow, and I wouldn’t care if I never saw it again. I agree that snow is beautiful, yet it is so cruel. It is deceiving. You want to jump in it and play with it, but it is so cold. The high school was so excited though and joyful, it was contagious. I couldn’t help but give into the excitement. Also, I realized Houston snow is not as cold as China snow, and it is a lot more bearable; especially, when you know that if you get too cold there is a warm building close by to escape inside.

The more I think about that Wednesday I realize what a blessing the snow really was.  As much as I fought the joy that comes with snow, in the end I allowed it to overtake me. Lately, I have had a lack of joy. I have allowed stress and fear to take over my life. I have allowed the worries of this world and of the future to steal my joy. The night before the snow fall I had come to a realization of this and had asked God to give me joy to open my eyes to it. Life is so much more difficult without joy. Thankfully, joy is all around us in sometimes the most unexpected places. Sometimes it lies in the things we think we dislike the most; like snow. Our choices often dictate whether we experience joy or not, so does our community or the lack there of.

There’s a great quote by Donald Miller from his book Blue Like Jazz. He says, “Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It’s like they are showing you the way.” That is how it was for me that day. Maybe it sounds silly, but I had forgotten why I used to love snow. I had forgotten how much fun I have had in snow. Watching those students love the snow made me want to love the snow. Made me remember how amazing and fun snow is. This is the beauty of community. The beauty of humanity. The need for each other, not just for company, but to teach each other. To remind each other of God, of Love, and of Joy. I used to be afraid of needing people, but now I see the beauty in it. I see God in people. I love watching God work through people and I love how alone each of us is only a miniscule piece of a very large body and I love how God continues to remind me of that.