5 Promises from a Snow Day

Without my knowledge and on her own, that evening she did her work. She looked up the weather forecast, asked about how her school makes snow day decisions and did the follow up research. She found our local school district’s website and the “school closures” phone number. She crawled into bed full of expectation.

The next morning I received the alert from her school “School is closed today due to weather”. I knocked on our daughter’s bedroom door, happy to be able to share the good news.  “Snow day!” I whispered in her ear.  “I know,” she muttered from under the blankets. “How?” I asked. She unwrapped herself just enough from her blanket cocoon to thrust out her arm. On the back of her hand was the school district’s number scrawled in sharpie. “I called this number an hour ago.” And with that she happily burrowed back under the covers.

Oh the anticipation and the joy! She had the promise of a snow day and it was her first thought on waking in the morning. As soon as she woke up, she rose and tapped into the source of information—the source of promise.  And her hope was not in vain.

How I wish I had that same anticipation for His promises.  I wish I went to bed each night with the same eager anticipation to wake in the morning and leap into His word. Ready to scour it for His promises and to rejoice as I claim them for the day ahead. 

His Word is full of rich, sweet promises, more wonderful than a snow day to a middle-school girl or boy.  Here are five that remind me of the beauty of a winter storm.

1. Quiet.  A blanket of white snow or falling sheets of rain seem to lull the world into a wonderful quiet. It calms the noise of our modern world and intensifies the sounds of nature—dripping water or snow swirling in the wind.

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” - Psalm 46:10

2. Peace. The peacefulness that follows the quiet of the storm is a wonderful gift. As the cares of the world are muted, it is a reminder that He is in control of each of the circumstances that life throws our way.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7

3. Renewal. A fresh, new blanket of snow covers the Earth—including the piles of old blackened snow on the street corners—with clean beauty. It is one the Bible’s most perfect illustrations of a fresh start that Jesus gives us when we accept Him. 

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”- Psalm 51:7

4. Grace. A snow day—no matter your age—is a grace day. A day to catch up on homework or work left undone in the busy-ness of life, or to spend much needed time with family. A grace day to catch up, or reset—a wonderful gift. 

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” - Hebrews 4:16

5. His Majesty. The howling winds of a winter storm or the crackling thunder and flashes of light in a spring thunderstorm are reminders that He is majestic and bigger than this world. It is comforting knowing that my needs, pains and desires are bigger than our human limitations and we are in the hands of Someone so much greater and more powerful.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” - Isaiah 55:8-9