First Snow

Have you entered the storehouses of the snow

or seen the storehouses of the hail...?

Job 38:22

Right about mid-day, the Internet began to buzz about the new Noreaster storm that was coming up the coast - headed straight for New York and New Jersey - some of the hardest hit areas of Hurricane Sandy last week.  The news said that there would not be much rain, but would have winds that could stir up a five foot storm surge.  Right around 6:00pm, I texted my daughter in NYC saying, "News says you are getting another Noreaster tonight??"  Her reply came quickly:  "Well, now we are getting an actual one.  It's a blizzard out there.  First snow!"

Although I'm quite sure that the people of New York and New Jersey, particularly along the coast, would prefer a run of dry weather right now, I love the look and feel of the first snow.  The sparkling crystal flakes cover the dead grass, fallen leaves, and a host of other unsightly flaws - turning the landscape into a fairytale playground.  Far too soon the brilliant white is smudged with the browns of rock and mud, but the first hour or two of falling snow is pure magic.

The Bible first mentions snow in Exodus 4:6 as a comparison:  his hand was leprous as snow.  2nd Samuel 23 tells the story of a man who went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. The Psalmist describes God as spreading "...snow like wool and... the frost like ashes."  Several texts describe the comparison of something being "...white as snow."  And in Psalm 148, the snow is called upon to praise the Lord.

Last year in central Virginia, we had a wintertime that resembled spring. It never did get very cold - a fact that was emphasized this summer when we were overrun with bugs.  This cold spell that we are experiencing post-Hurricane Sandy gives me hope that this year we will have a chance to once again bask in the glow of the falling snow.