White as snow

It is so cold here. Oh my goodness I thought last night my face was going to fall off it got so cold! It has snowed, and snowed, and snowed some more. I think I've quickly decided that I am, in my heart, a true Florida girl. Visiting the snow is great, but certainly NOT my ideal living situation.

A few weeks ago... the ground outside was brown and dirty. The trees were dead and lifeless. It just looked... ugly. A little snow came and covered the ground. It fell onto the trees and covered parts of the grass, but not all of it. Awhile later we had a very large snow that covered everything... there wasn't a spot of dirt to be seen or the ugly brown the ground once was. The trees were covered and everything was beautiful again. As the snow began melting parts of the grass began to show through, there were brown spots in small, very faint places, but yet again... another snow would come and cover everything.

I thought a lot about it. It so quickly reminded me of my life and Christ's forgiveness. I am the dirty ugly ground... Christ comes to cover completely, but I won't give him everything... so I'm not fully covered with his blanket of forgiveness. When I accept his gift, he covers all of me and I'm beautiful. Not an ounce of old life there... I'm a new creation. Life happens and I screw up and like the brown spots peaking through the snow... there are the old remnants of my life, sneaking there way through the corners of my mind, reminding me of who I used to be. As with the snow, God comes again and covers all my many sins.

God doesn't want part of me. He doesn't want half of the ground to be my old ugly life and half to be as white as snow. He wants to cover me completely. He desires better for me than the mediocrity this life offers. When I let him, it doesn't end there. He can cover me, but I still in my human desires allow that old life to peek through his blanket of covering. I'm either reminded of who I used to be and begin to think I still am that or I begin living my life back the way I used to. God still wants better. He didn't send his son to die for part of what I do or what I did back 'then'. He sent Him to die for it all. Every single part of my life... every ounce of my being... he wants.

So even though I don't like the snow right now and it's sooooo cold, it's better than the ugly brown ground that used to be there. Not only is it better... I can look out the window and remember that I used to be that ground... ugly, dirty and broken... and regardless of who anyone else tries to tell me I am... God took me and covered me... and He made me white as snow.