First came the snow. Then came the Snow Faeries. Both were unexpected.
Just a few days earlier this week, it seemed like Spring had sprung: Bright sunshine and warm southerly winds had local temperatures climbing past 60 degrees. Not bad for mid-February in St. Louis. But not to be depended upon, either – as the Locals well know.
Sure enough, the winds shifted and the clouds rolled in with a fury on Friday afternoon – dumping enough snow that our Lenten Fish Fry had to be canceled. “Discretion…valor”, and all that.
Of course, kids aren’t particularly disposed towards discretion. Snow for them is an invitation to romp. And romp they apparently did in my backyard – whether on Friday or Saturday, I know not. But delightful evidence they left behind: bootprints suggesting both chaotic play…AND bootprints in a pattern, encircling our dormant maples as if a sort of Faerie Dance had taken place, inviting Spring to come back on in.
What is this pattern I see? A greeting perhaps from the Holy One?
Something about the wintry scene put my spirit at ease. It served as a preview, I suppose, of the new life as yet well-hidden under a late-winter blanket. “Good things are coming,” the bootprints seemed to say. God’s promise is renewed.
Granted, I saw no rainbow following Friday’s snowstorm. But it wasn’t hard for me to connect the dots between that blessed backyard scene…and the Holy One’s reassuring words proclaimed in today’s first reading from Genesis:
“When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds,
I will recall the covenant I have made between Me and you and all living beings…”
And this, too: As Lent begins, an unexpected blanket of snow covers the ground…and invokes childlike glee. Exuberant bootprints, reminding me of the liberating grace Jesus has come to bring:
“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.”
Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.
IHS
With Us Still 