though you sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..."
Isaiah 1:18
It was such fun, but for me there was even more. For as I was leaving, a dear friend came up to me and handed me her ornament saying she wanted me to have it. Why? I don’t know, but I think it was simply an act of love, a kind gesture I couldn’t refuse. As I thanked her and took the ornament in my hands I saw that it was a beautiful glistening snowflake.
Then, as I began the drive home—my heart still warm from my friend’s lovingkindness—I began to think about the significance of that snowflake ornament and a long-ago memory began to surface. It was a time when my husband and I flew to Colorado for a visit with our son and his family. As our plane was landing I looked out the window and the scene before me was breathtaking. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and on the ground was a blanket of freshly fallen white snow, zillions of tiny white snowflakes. As I looked at that glorious scene before my eyes, suddenly I realized that God was giving me a living illustration of what He has done with my sin. For just as He covered that barren winter landscape with snow, He has covered my sin with His forgiveness, washing me as white as snow, making a way for me to have a relationship with Him.
That is the story of Christmas. That is why Jesus came, so that our sins could be forgiven and those who receive Him can have a relationship with God.
Every time I see that glistening ornament given to me by my friend, which is now hanging from the light fixture over our dining room table, I’m reminded of that snowy Colorado morning and God’s forgiveness of my sin. I just love it when God uses the ordinary, simple things of life to remind me of His love.
Things like freshly fallen white snowflakes.
Merry Christmas!
Judy Rose Grubaugh