A Canvas of Winter Art
The wind nibbled my cheeks as I crossed the field,
lumbering along in snowshoes. My Dad's horse Buddy, was my companion as he
trotted alongside the fence, his coat winter-fluffed, and whiskered nose
dangling tiny icicles. Wherever I looked, there I saw beauty – stark beauty.
The powdery landscape revealed far more than trees, or signs of plant life. Snow
– pure, white snow - formed a blank canvas on which the wind etched eddies of
design. Likewise, on hillsides and banks, it created wave-like crescents, while
other flatter snow surfaces revealed bark-like patterns. Animal tracks wove
their way over the sparkling surface – some meandering, others
showing purposeful destination. Snow crystals sparkled and twinkled as the sun
peeped from behind a cloud. In its full appearance, how the snow radiated its
brightness! A brightness that hurt the eyes, compelling me to turn away from it!
Yet its beauty was so overpowering I stood mesmerized by it all. So, squinty-eyed
I gazed, longing for a camera to capture it all.
This winter trek repeatedly called to my mind the
song “Whiter than Snow”.
The
blessing by faith, I receive from above
Oh, glory! My soul is made perfect in love
My prayer has prevailed, and this moment I know,
The blood is applied, I am whiter than snow.
Whiter than snow,
yes, whiter than snow,Oh, glory! My soul is made perfect in love
My prayer has prevailed, and this moment I know,
The blood is applied, I am whiter than snow.
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Made “whiter than snow” by Christ’s
work on the cross! But it doesn’t end there.
I long to be a pure canvas– a canvas for God to engrave his patterns across the
landscape of my soul. For His Wind to whisper His will, His glory and His
power, and more of who He is. For His design to be implanted in the depth of my
being, blown across who I am until the one He created me to be is revealed –
one small eddy and swirl at a time.
A canvass with tracks meandering,
moving, His leading mine.
A canvass bright with His glory,
radiating to a hurting world a brilliance flowing solely from Him.
May I faithfully trace His footprints
with my own, going wherever His lead.
May His presence in my life fashion me
as a work of art displaying His grace, love and beauty.
“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be
clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm
51:7).
