Whiter than Snow

I seriously love musicals.  Later this week, I'll tell you more about how this all came to be--how a once slightly shy girl became a teenager who sang solos and danced and how that teenager grew into an assistant director who makes a complete fool out of herself on a regular basis.  But for now you'll have to trust me when I say this:

I. LOVE. MUSICALS.

Now that we've got that settled, I believe we can move on. :)

One of my favorite movies of all time is White Christmas.  It's good to watch all year through, but it's especially magical to watch it at Christmas time.  

There's something just so wondrous about the combination of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney singing, dancing, and wishing for snow that can't help but make me excited.  Seriously, it's a glorious movie--check it out.

This year for the first time EVER, the weathermen predicted snow on Christmas.  A White Christmas.  My White Christmas.  I waited all day long for the snow to begin.  

Pacing back and forth between the recliner and the window.  Compulsively checking weather.com to see if any precipitation had arrived yet.  Talking back to the weathermen on the news who were reporting snow in our local area.  Looking out the window like a 5 year old.  And all day long, I saw nothing.

At 11:00pm, my patience was wearing thin.  I wanted my white Christmas--I had my heart set on it.  Just as my mom was getting ready to go to bed, she checked out the window for one final peep.  She looked at me and said, "It's started."  Please realize that by this point, that was about the 5th time someone has told me it was snowing.  I was jaded, folks.  Jaded.  I said, "You better not be kidding me because that is absolutely not funny."  "I'm not," she replied.  "Come see."

I peeked out the window and sure enough--snow!  Coming down on Christmas.  MY white Christmas.  Just like at the end of White Christmas, the snow came when there was almost no time left.  I tried to capture the few flakes that were falling on camera:

  

Okay, so it doesn't look like snow, but it was there.  Promise.

The next morning I woke up to a phone call from work saying we were closed due to weather.  I then peeked outside to see TONS of snow.  Mom sent me on a trek to take some pictures outside while everything was pristine.  Here are a few--

This would be my view as I was walking down my driveway.

Beautiful, picturesque.

"On the street where I liiiiiiiive."  Didn't I warn you that I loved musicals?

Yes, I did stick a ruler in the snow to see how much we got! :)  

Welcome to my backyard, otherwise known as a winter wonderland.

The trees were amazing when you glanced up into them.

Snow is lovely.  It's pure, it's fresh, it's delightful.  It blankets the world and makes it seem new.  Rob Bell, when discussing the relationship between experiences in the physical world and the spiritual life, says in one of his books, "This is always about that."  That seems like a ridiculous statement upon first glance.  But Bell's point is that everything we see here in the physical world isn't really about this.  It points to something much larger--a spiritual truth.  As I wandered through the snow this morning, I thought of this song:

"Whiter than snow.

Whiter than snow.

Jesus will wash you whiter than snow.

Though your sins be as scarlet,

Your wrongs He'll make right

When He washes you snow white"

~ "Whiter than Snow"

The anticipation of snow, the cleanness, the joyous feeling when you see it.  This is really about that--the feeling of redemption and newness through Christ.  As you're seeing inches and inches of this laying about, remember that.  Take note of that feeling of freshness and purity.  Be reminded that's what Christ provided for each of us--the ability to become whiter than snow.