It's cold winter days that inspire me to write. Okay, it's rainy spring days and hot summer days and crisp autumn days as well. There's something about snowy days though, that get me thinking about grace.
Growing up I was often reminded that God can make you as white as snow, as long as you confessed your sins and accepted His Son. So no wonder a person feels "dirty" whenever they do something wrong. We're told that the more wrongdoing, the darker our sin's stains. But once we seek forgiveness and accept that forgiveness, we will become white as the falling snow.
For years I understood the concept, but I often failed to follow through. I knew to ask forgiveness, but I never knew how to accept it. Not from God, and not from people here on earth.
Perfectionism is poison. I used to think it a nice trait to acquaint myself with, but nowadays I just feel like it's a burden I'm chained to. I don't like to mess up; it makes me feel bad and I get embarrassed when others know of my mistakes.
The thing about sin is that it's not just a stain that we wear until we allow God to wash it away, but things come attached to it. Things like guilt. Oftentimes I allow God to remove the stain, but I keep hold of the guilt that once stuck to it. So I may be stain free (for a moment) but I have a shadow following me. And that shadow grew into a thundercloud and then it grew into a storm.
Joyce Meyer once said to do yourself a favor... Forgive! But that's no so easy when you can't even forgive yourself. Today's world doesn't make the task any less complicated either.
We are bombarded with either idle gossip or the glorification of perfect. Anything in between makes you feel less than what you are. And when we lose sight of who we are, we are truly lost.
So I like to think the falling snow on days like today is God reminding me that if I want to forgive I need to accept it first. And then I need to sprinkle it over everyone like a blanket of snow.
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