A (brief) Winter Wonderland in TN

Yesterday morning I slept in because I was trying to give my body some more rest.  I stayed home from a girls' weekend getaway (of which I was only doing one night/two days) because my cough had returned with a vengeance.  I thought I was on the victory lap because I felt so much better Wednesday morning and my voice was returning stronger every day. But Wednesday hit me hard and I knew when I got up Friday morning that I needed to stay home and rest.  I've done a lot of that lately.  I've rested and worked from home.  I've not talked.  For someone who talks for their calling and who taught languages for 24 years, you can imagine how being quiet (as much as possible) these past three weeks has been different for me. :)

But, I digress.

By living into the spiritual practice of listening to my body and staying home Friday and Saturday, I woke up to a slightly covered deck outside my bedroom window and big white flakes falling from the sky. 

I guess I had missed the weather forecast somewhere. 

My husband was on his weekly Saturday ZOOM call, but I couldn't help shouting out "it's snowing" with child-like wonder and surprise. 

I watched the snow pile up throughout the morning, taking pictures of the deck, the trees, my Hebrew alphabet coffee mug, our "love and acceptance practiced here" sign, the tables, and Cliff.  I took LOTS of Cliff pictures.  It turns out that Cliff loves the snow and would sit in it, looking up at the flakes as they fell onto his nose.

I took time to listen to the silence.  You know, that silent hush of falling snow.  It is a beautiful silence that fills the atmosphere, only to be broken by the sound of children laughing and four-wheelers buzzing around.

I didn't spend too much time outside.  I mainly watched the winter wonderland from inside. 

Yet there was something about the outward setting of peace that allowed me to have inner peace.  Much like the sacraments of baptism and communion are outward symbols to remind us of the inward grace that Creator God has provided, the ever falling snow became a sacramental blanket, a symbol, of outward peace for me.

Though I didn't get to really "play" in the snow, I quickly "smooshed" together something that really cannot be considered a snowman and I made a quick snow angle with Cliff's help that he was kind enough to guard for a little while.  There wasn't anyone at whom I could throw snowballs (Riley was off at a meeting and I didn't think that would be fair to Cliff). 

The small amount of play was sufficient.  What I needed more was the peace from the surroundings as the snow continued to fall.

And just as quickly as the snow fell and piled up high, it was gone.  But not the peace.  The peace remains.

Even though I don't have time like I would like to write because I'm focused on reading, studying, and writing for weekly sermons, I know there is a time for everything, just like the gentle and steady fall of the snow.

I really missed getting to hang out with the ones I was supposed to be with on Friday and Saturday, but I am grateful for the time of rest for my body, as well as the gift of snow.

Living into spiritual practices isn't always easy.  Listening to my body, saying "yes" to stopping, rather than pushing myself too hard meant giving up something I wanted and needed.  Yet, I gained some things, some perspective too.

Am I 100% recovered now?  No.  I am still taking time to not talk, to rest my body.  This not talking thing is actually growing on me.  I imagine it is growing on others too. :)

Though the snow came and went, I have the memories and photographs to bring back the sounds of silence, the peace, the joy, the fun.

If you were somewhere in the south on Saturday, you may have experienced the brief winter wonderland too.  What did it do for you?  What were the gifts from the snowfall for you?

I know that those who live in other locations don't quite "get" the magic of a random snowfall like we experienced on Saturday, but here in the south we call out years, such as the blizzard of 1993.  I lived on Long Island for three years and we had a couple of doozies there too. 

Snow will always be one of those things that pulls out the kid in me (it doesn't take much).

My one regret is that my sledding budding wasn't here.  We had a blast a couple of years back on the hill  outside our neighborhood.  There's a video on my Facebook page as proof. :)

Enjoy these pictures of my backyard, Cliff, and deck.

May the journey continue to be adventurous!

Much peace!

Rev. Deb

Resources on the Spiritual Practice of listening to your body:

Honoring the Body as a Spiritual Discipline by Ruth Haley Barton (podcast)
Holy Listening with Breath, Body, and the Spirit by Whitney Simpson (book)
Your Body is Talking. Are You Listening? by Julie Peters (article)

My snow pictures: 

#seeaheartshareaheart