"Each rising sun brings new hope because of God’s tender
mercy." ~ Luke 1:78
During the night a blanket of snow
fell across the midwestern plains, as Dori snoozed beneath woolen covers. She stumbled to life as a warm, wet nose
caressed her check, meaning of course, that Rebel need to relieve himself.
Racing to the door, she barely managing to get the puppy out.
As he tip-toed through the frosty landscape
with urgent matters, Dori gazed into the white abyss laying silently across her
yard.
Under a dove grey sky, the backyard resembled an unfinished
painting; much of the canvas still flawlessly white. Its purity elevated her spirit; a world made fresh
as a book of new stories.
Rebel enjoyed everything about this day: the satisfaction of
being the first to make an impression in a blanket of freshly lain snow, the
subtle crunch underfoot as he frolicked among shafts of sunlight illuminating
the winter scene before him.
In a matter of minutes, Dori’s snow (yes, HER snow), was
quickly re-decorated; dotted and dimpled with paw prints and yellowed reminders
of mother nature’s calls. Dozens of
circles zigzagged across the former glittery wonderland, its radiant beauty now
vanished. Her dreamscape gone forever.
Dori sighed.
But then, something occurred as memories sharpened into
focus. Perhaps those paw prints had
meaning she hadn’t recognized.
Each of those ‘blemishes’ might represent mistakes from her own
past. Perhaps an unreturned phone call,
maybe an un-mailed birthday card. A
forgotten lunch date, or a promise swept aside.
Bit by bit as she sipped a marsh-mellowed cup of cocoa, the
fabric of her life unraveled. She dug
deeper into the past, pushing snow into the far corners of her mind, until she exposed
the cold bare earth. It was a frightening
place.
She had to make things right - to become a better person; more
positive, less judgmental. “I must always
be there for my friends,” she thought, “and family, neighbors … even strangers.”
The next morning, Dori bravely opened the front door to let her
four-legged companion out, bracing herself for another cold blast. Instead, a picture-perfect sight nearly stole
her breath.
Once again, a fresh blanket of snow had fallen. The tracks were gone, embellished with a new
layer of glittering wonder. The sunlight
danced amongst the snowflakes, sending prisms of color shooting into the
morning sky.
It was a new day. A
day to start fresh, along with that perfect layer of sparkling snow. A new chance to be a better person.
We all have blemishes from our past, their yellowed pages
long forgotten in our mind’s eye. But
like paw prints littering snow, we can learn from them, and our future will be
better, and brighter, like the resplendent beauty that awaits us with each new
sunrise.
Today Lord, I wish to lay down the burden of my
shortcomings, and seek the courage to begin anew. Help me understand that I’m not trapped in the
past, but freed by Christ to live and grow today. With gratitude, Amen
