Snow and Mercy

I need to talk about the snow for a moment. There are many things on this Earth, many natural things, that I experience no end of enjoyment whenever I have the opportunity to partake of their sights, sounds, or smells. But with everything else out there, I have always found snow to be the most calming, peaceful, and beautiful. At a time when the world seems to be in its darkest depths, filled with death in the failing plants, the already fallen leaves, the brown grass, lacking light in the short days, cold with the most chill winds, secluded and lonely as people remain hidden in their heated houses, as hopeless and despairing as the world can ever become.... Then, the snow starts to drift down from the sky, pure and white and beautiful, covering up the flaws in the world with its forgiving blanket, giving grace to the wind as the flakes dance in the air, adding light as every beam shines brightly off the unscathed surface covering the ground, bringing company as people emerge from their houses to enjoy all the delights that snow can bring from simple looking to snow angels, snowmen, and sledding. And with the snow, the world is no longer hopeless, despairing, and lonely. It's a place filled with love, with grace, with forgiveness. I never could have explained this before I became Catholic, but I've felt it all my life, and still feel it now. I've always viewed the snow as something not only beautiful but hopeful, and, when needed, forgiving. Now I simply know how to say it; I know what it means to have grace that falls down and covers my flaws, my sins, erases them to offer a new start every time.