It’s snowing again and the wind is blowing. It’s probably
one of those days that we are grateful and happy that we have a warm house and
even better if we don’t have to leave it. It’s not easy for us to find words of
gratitude or words of thanksgiving on snowy, windy days. In the winter time,
especially in January and February, its hard work to stay positive and happy. The blowing snow
reminds me of the sand dunes in the wilderness. Just as the snow drifts into
piles across our yards and fields, the same phenomenon creates the sand dunes that
blow across the vastness of an open desert. When we’re traveling through the
desert, we’ve got a lot of sand dunes to traverse before we find our way
through the wilderness.
I think that blowing snow and sand is not unlike our personal journey into a deeper, more meaningful faith. As the Spirit blows, our feelings and experiences
like a single snowflake or grain of sand blow across our spiritual landscape and
sometimes it gets caught in drifting snow or sand dunes in the wilderness that
continue to build and build. Sometimes the drifts are beautiful and serene and
other times it buries our hopes and our dreams and we struggle to cling to some element of wholeness
and fulfillment. In a white wilderness of blowing snow or a desert on a windy
day, it’s easy to lose our bearings and we find ourselves wandering through the
wilderness, feeling the hopelessness with each step of a journey – a journey
that seems to go nowhere.
Within the Jewish and Christian tradition, we are blessed with
songs and poetry, stories and sayings that express our joy and heartfelt
thanksgiving. It is also true that there are words and images that express our disappointments and our despair. The book of Psalms
is filled with happy verses of gladness and unity, comfort and prayers of
celebration. There is also a large collection of the Psalms that leave us cold
and wondering what we’ve read. There are Psalms of despair and anger,
hopelessness and revenge and although we don’t like to read them, they are
songs that have expressed the spiritual journey of someone. We call these
psalms, lament psalms and they help us to get through the cold and drifting
snow to a place where we are able to receive the healing love of the Holy
Spirit. The lament psalms take us into the empty wasteland of our despair so
that we might see the face of God that turns our mourning into dancing, our
tears of sadness into tears of unrestrained joy. The lament psalms gives us a
way through the wilderness when there seems to be no other way. The lament psalms
help us to be human again.
One day the drifting snow will melt away with the warm tears
of spring and the cold winds of winter will bring us sunshine and blue skies.
In the meantime we’ve got a lot of living still to do. Just like winter days,
our spiritual journey will pass through lonely times, painful moments, and
we’ll wonder where the Spirit is leading us. As we cry out, trying to find our
voice in the darkness of winter, the flame of God’s Spirit will be,
for us, the light of a new day. The Spirit of God may fade from time to time,
but it never dies away. As we continue our journey through the snow and ice,
through bright days of the winter sun and the gray days of a gathering storm,
the voice of God is still calling out to us and the community of the faithful
are looking for us in the snow-drifts of life. Let God’s Spirit speak to you,
not only when all seems right with the world, but also when the drifting storms
block the entrance to your soul. If you must, sit down with the psalms of
lament and let the ancient voices of faithful pilgrims speak to your heart and
when you are ready, the drifting snow will begin to melt and the warmth of
God’s Spirit will bring you through and the birds will sing again, the flowers
will bloom again, and the sweet smell of God’s love will bring you through
another day.
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