A Reflection of Snow Days and Sabbath Days

What is more peaceful and soothing than watching snow fall and accumulate?  Last night, we had our second winter storm here in Alabama for the Winter 2010/2011 season.  And although in some places there is still a shimmering icey, white blanket on the ground, the sky is no longer splashed with flecks of white fluffs or crystalized water droplets.  It is an extremely unusual event to have two snowstorms in one winter in Alabama, let alone two so close together.  Our first being at Christmastime - the first white Christmas in Alabama that most can remember.  Yesterday, our second 'wintry weather' event of the season.

With numerous schools and businesses closed, and most roads too perilous to travel on, many received the forced holiday with joy.  God gave us a gift.  A day to play, enjoy our families, rest and relax.  A Sabbath, so to speak.  Our Heavenly Father offered us a day to observe the Sabbath. 

The Sabbath was a Old Testament commandment for the people:

"Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath
to the LORD your God."  - Deuteronomy 5:12-13

However, Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law:

 "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”  - Matthew 12:8

 So, even though overlooking observance of the Lord's Sabbath is no longer a sin if you are in Convenant with the Lord Jesus, it was still given by God for a reason, and a good idea.  God does have pretty good ideas!  He knows His creation.  We are a people who have fashioned for ourselves a culture that is stressed-out, over-worked, and sleep-deprived.  Neglecting to regularly observe the Sabbath, or at least take a day each week to completely rest and enjoy our family, has resulted in higher crime rates, breakdown of families, road rage, and the daily grind becoming a habitual pulverization of our own health and the well-being of our families.

Yesterday, God bestowed upon Alabamians, and a few other Southern states, a frosty day of rare and special weather.  And those whom He bequeathed this treasure on were compelled to stay home.  Many played outdoors in the icy snow with family and possibly a couple friends.  Others stayed indoors and relaxed with a good book and a cup of hot chocholate.  I was one who stayed near the warmth of our fireplace as other folks ventured out to enjoy this day.  One time early in the morning, my husband actually saw a snowmobile go by on the fragment of the main thoroughfair that we can see from our home.  Not sure where that came from around here, but at least it was put to good use, if only once.  Several times my husband and I saw drivers on 4-wheelers on the icey road in front of our street.  As a vibrant Southern form of off-road entertainment, the 4-wheeler yesterday became the norm for travel on almost impassable roads.  But that's not all they were used for. 

A 4-wheeler came down our cul-de-sac numerous times yesterday giving small children rides on a toboggan/sled.   One thing about the South, we are innovative in our ideas on how to enjoy our snow days!  I read on Facebook where one family used an air mattress to slide down a hill near their house!  I saw a photo in the Birmingham Newspaper of a small aluminum fishing boat attached to a Jeep whom the driver gave rides on the slippery street to those who would dare!  Not something I would necessarily recommend, but imaginitive, nonetheless!

As I watched the 4-wheeler slowly come down our cul-de-sac with the young child laughing on the sled behind, it brought back to me a very special memory.  One that will forever be itched in my mind as just the way my Dad was.  He loved spending time with his family any way he could.  He always had a positive attitude and made the best of everything.  He went to be with Jesus in August of 2008, and he is dearly missed by myself and my family. 

Dad truly enjoyed the Spring and Summer seasons, as he was an outstanding gardner having been raised an Iowa farmboy.  But he also loved wintertime!  My brother and I grew up in Colorado on the edge of the majestic Rockies and learned to snow ski at young ages.  When we moved to Alabama in 1980,  Dad claimed he never missed the snow, but he was like a kid the few times he got to see it snow here.  One Winter in particular, we had what is now infamously referred to as the Blizzard of '93.  My husband and I and our two small children at the time, went to stay at my parent's house when our power went out.  The next day after the storm passed, we had several feet of snow in our area.  My Dad got out his tractor and trailor that he used in his large garden, and proceeded to ride our two young daughters and all the neighborhood children around the block.  This went on for several hours, as he painstackingly would let kids off and on.  He repeated the excapade for the giggling children on the surrounding streets for the good part of the day.  

What a extraordinary memory of Sabbath observance!  Though there were several feet of snow on the ground causing the world as we knew to come to a hault, and we were unable to go about our regular routines for days, we were at peace.  It was God's gift to us, and we honored Him.   We were not in a church service, nor did we have any structured time of Bible study.  We were simply enjoying time spent with family and friends in God's creation, and His special design of weather for us that week.  It was a time of rest and enjoyment to make memories with our family.  And yesterday was another similar gift from God; a gift of rest, to find peace, to enjoy family and friends.  

Don't take His gifts for granted, in whatever form they may come.  They are for us to learn to become the children of God the world looks to in these ever increasing days of stress and turmoil.  If not us, then who?  We must be ready at all times, strong and able.  We are His plan.  Rest in Him.  Honor Him.   Be light. 

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31

"Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with My victorious right hand." - Isaiah 41:10

"What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these? If God is on our side, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son for us but gave Him up for us all,
won't He also surely give us everything else?" - Romans 8:31-32