04 December 2009

Mountains and Valleys: 6 December 2009

Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. (Luke 3:5)
Well, it finally arrived last evening: the first snow of the season that actually stuck to the ground. And then today there were snow flurries off and on all day long. At one point memories of last year’s abundant snowfall and how little by little the pile of plowed snow along side our driveway grew into such a huge mountain that I was certain it wouldn’t all melt until July. As the years come and go I gain an ever-growing appreciation of the saying, “Snow is pretty to look at if you don’t have to travel anywhere”.

An abundance of snow has the capacity to change the landscape – drifts mound high on level surfaces, ditches are filled to the brim and the high spots in the field that surround our abode do not look quite so high. A heavy, blustery snowstorm puts us all on an even level as far as making it difficult, or impossible, to travel anywhere.

Many of us come to discover over the years that an abundance of snow also has a way of changing our inner landscape as well. Too many snowy days in a row, or too long of a wintery weather season brings about that feeling of cabin fever – those times when we may just want to shout out “Get me out of here!” Title, status, wealth, social position, etc. sure doesn’t matter to Mother Nature’s winter fury. Hmm…why is such importance placed on those things by so many people in our world? Deep down in the core of our being are there inner mountains of lofty attitudes we cling to that need to be made low? Are there valleys such as feelings of guilt, unworthiness, sadness or spiritual dryness that need filling?

Perhaps during this Advent season of preparation something worth our time is to pause a while and reflect on the shape of our inner selves – the heart and soul and spirit part of us that connects with our ever-present and indwelling Sacred One who loves us so completely and unconditionally.

Peace on the Journey.

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