Joy in the Morning (11/09/2025)

I walked to the kitchen and switched on my coffee maker.  When I turned around and looked out the sliding door to the porch, there it was! Snow. Not a lot of snow, but enough to cover the ground and make the outdoors visible even though the sun hadn’t risen yet. And I must admit that the little girl in me came out. I love snow.

I grew up in the south (Texas for five years and then Georgia for ten years). Snow was something we never had except for that one day. I will always remember it. The town of Waycross virtually shut down because no one was working. The grown men who had never had snow were outside trying to make snowballs and snow men with barely 2 inches of snow. That day, we were all children; that day we were all full of joy.

To this day, the first snow of the season always makes my day. I love the way the snow accumulates in unexpected ways on certain branches or in surprising swirls on the lawn. I love the way it makes everything more beautiful, more fresh, and more clean. And I love the way that snow covered ground somehow reflects light and illuminates everything around it. For one who loves to sit outside before sunrise and just before bed, being able to see everything beyond my porch because of the snow’s illuminating power makes me feel safer, securer, more at peace and more joyful. It makes the cold I must endure more tolerable. Yep, I love the snow.

Snow brings memories that facilitate joy, memories of my children playing in the snow. While I was raised without snow, I wanted my children to experience it and enjoy it. As soon as they were all old enough to toddle about safely, we’d go out side and play in the snow, especially the day of the first snow. And there was so much joy as they created things from the formable powder. They were especially fond of making snow angels. I can still see the image of one big and three smaller snow angels. Yes, I love snow.

Life’s elements mean different things to different people. I’m sure that many this morning are having a different reaction to the white powder on the ground. I’m sure joy isn’t felt in every home in my small city. It depends on one’s perspective, on one’s past experiences, on one’s memories. Life’s like that, don’t you know.

And as this old woman suddenly feels younger again just because of some transient element outdoors, I suddenly remember Jesus’ words to His followers, “Unless you can become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3). I think Jesus is trying to tell us we must be capable of joy, we must be open to awe, we must be humble enough to recognize the wonders of the LORD’s universe beginning with His love.

As we continue our journeys of faith, hope and love, may we take the time to be awed, may we feel joy in the moments of life from simple things, and may we open our hearts and minds to the LORD’s wonder that sometimes come in tiny, almost weightless elements into our lives.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.