PURE MICHIGAN

Northern Michigan woods
Snow. Pure. Snow.

There is something special about fresh fallen snow. Add the trees and sun and well, it's just something indescribable. Light, beautiful, gracious, unique snowflakes. Glistening, romantic, pure.

Having spent a dozen years of my life in Northern Michigan, I have come to love snow. Inches and inches of snow. Sometimes so much in a day that you take a couple of steps, look back at your footprints and the snow has already filled your tracks. 

There's also some great winter sports to enjoy.  Downhill skiing, hockey, ice skating, building snowmen,, snowball fights,  and my favorite, cross country skiing.  There's just something special about skiing in the woods in the winter.  Great exercise, great memories.

Yet not everyone likes snow. 

I get it.  It's not much fun to drive in.  I recall drives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where all you could see was white fluffy snow between the wind shield wipers, driving 20 miles below speed limit to arrive at your destination hours later than you had hoped. The sounds of snow plows, cars stuck, icy roads and tow trucks.  And if it's snowing, that means it's cold.  Fireplaces, hot chocolate, hibernating.

How we view snow is often not much different than how we view ourselves. Some of us look at our good qualities, but if we're honest, we mostly look at what we're not. We look at our mistakes, our weaknesses, our fears, our insecurities, our failures. Or we see that others have more confidence that we could ever even imagine. Viewing ourselves through that lens always leaves us a little less than.  It always keeps us focused on ourselves instead of the way God sees things.

 "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Isaiah 1: 18

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