It snowed today. That in itself is not unusual since it usually snows somewhere on any given day in winter. The odd fact of it snowing today is that it snowed here in East Texas. We had several hours of white, puffy flakes cascading down around us. My son came in off the bus wildly excited about it being winter here. My daughter displayed a bit less enthusiasm for the wintry explosion. Thankfully, the snow has stopped after choosing to be pretty without the possible complications that come with it.

Living in the Panhandle of Texas gave me a different perspective on snow. It was not uncommon there to see it from October to April. There were more than a few occasions when the snow accumulated up to a foot. Luckily our area used snowplows on the highways. That still did not always help. The best clue for driving in such a mess is to find the best rut in the road and not move from it. We learned to keep going to the store or school even when it seemed the weather wanted to immobilize us in our tracks.

The snow today caused the usual symptoms. The local grocery store appeared to be lined with cars outside as anxious shoppers stocked up for the storm of the century. I ran some errands out and about town myself. Shoppers trudged along down the aisles with their buggies loaded down with supplies. It never ceases to amaze me how a little snow can send East Texans into full panic mode. One snowflake will send even the heartiest of souls to stores to prepare for a blizzard.

It does not take much to make us panic in our life in general. Sometimes we just circle our wagons to fortify our emotions against further damage. Sometimes the smallest of misfortune sends us into an existential crisis of faith. We forget the truth of Romans 8:28 that we are so quick to quote to others. The God we sing about with such gusto seems so far away in those times. My hope is we can learn that life changes as fast as the snow falls. God never changes. His grace and mercy are as constant as the sun that shines behind the clouds. His word is always true even when the weatherman makes a mistake. Tomorrow the forecast is for sunshine again. We will be able to resume our lives as normal. My prayer is you will have even more faith in the sunshine as you needed in the snow.

Bro. Trey