Angels in the Snow.
When walking one sunny day, I saw the above picture replicated over and over again across the snow. The long grasses were making snow angels. I remembered the joy, the laughter, the feeling of freedom I felt as a child when I carefully flopped down in an unmarred patch of sparkling snow and spread my arms like wings, flapping back and forth. Always I took care in returning to my feet and stepping away so I wouldn’t wreck my angel.
In today’s picture the shadow, so much larger than the actual grass, adds something I really hadn’t noticed as a child. My mind drifts to my life and my faith, and my attempts to follow Jesus’ teachings. To me, the snow angel represents all the little things we all do in our day to day life. On one of our snowfall days, Tom and I returned from our walk to discover a neighbour had used his snowblower to clear the windrow the street plough left at the foot of our driveway and those of many of our neighbours.
Every day, I try to do something small. Speak my gratitude, thank the clerk checking out my groceries, smile behind my mask, even if she can’t see it. Offer to run an errand for my busy daughter or …We all know the little things, the little kindnesses that have become part of our living. Each morning Tom and I ask God to make us a blessing for someone during our coming day. Pay something forward. These little kindnesses are represented by the angels in the snow made by the grasses in my picture. But what are the shadows?
Scientists tell us the ripples of even our smallest actions reach round the world. We need only look at the life of Jesus, a carpenter, living long ago and far away. The shadow of his life still touches us today. When Jesus declared and lived the two most important commandments to be “love God” and “love others as you love yourself,” he changed the world for all time. The goodness he taught and lived is still alive. This picture reminds me that every time we are God’s angels, consciously or unconsciously, every bit of kindness, honesty, love, or acceptance, we live and give has an infinite effect on our world. Wow! That’s a mighty huge shadow. Let’s keep on making snow angels.