Through Stained Glass: Wondering about Tecumseh

“Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.”
    This is God’s Message:
“If your sins are blood-red,
    they’ll be snow-white.
If they’re red like crimson,
    they’ll be like wool.
If you’ll willingly obey,
    you’ll feast like kings.
But if you’re willful and stubborn,
    you’ll die like dogs.”
That’s right. God says so.
~Isaiah 1.18-20, The Message

I wonder what he is thinking.

What do you think about when the snow is falling?

It probably depends where you are, right?

In the comfort of your home, maybe you think about the feeling of warmth you feel as you sit on your couch.

In the office or in the classroom, maybe you think about what the roads will be like when you clock out.

In your car maybe you have no time to think about anything other than arriving safely to your next destination.

Here is a silly confession: the snowflakes of winter are as mesmerizing as the lightning bugs of summer. I could sit and watch them dance all day and night. I find comfort in their gentle descent from heaven, and peace comes to me as they cover my tired backyard (I’m talking about the snow here). It seems as if snow makes the world softer, which I could use right about now. It makes me want to be a kid again—to run outside and make snow angels. To feel my cheeks turn red, and my fingers tingle. One of the best parts about playing in the snow as a boy was knowing my mom would have a cup of hot cocoa waiting for me when I returned home.

Gentleness. 

Softness. 

Home.

I use these words not only used to describe what I’m watching outside my window, but also to describe how I have come to know God’s presence. Of course, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes it feels hard, grimy, and distant. Somedays faith is Easter Sunday, and some seasons, it is every bit Good Friday.

Still, no matter what kind of isolation or desperate season we may be in, the snow reminds me of how God’s forgiveness and mercy are available…if we want it.

Tecumseh’s moment of contemplation lasted as long as a single flickering of a firefly’s light. As soon as I took the photo, he was off digging in the garden, throwing mud in every direction. His clean coat of fur quickly became muddy. Another reminder of how fast I tend to forget God’s call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.

In the end, as I watch the snow accumulate and Tecumseh roll around in the snow, making his dirty coat white again, I wonder about God remains faithful to God’s people, even in the face of repeated rejection by them.

I wonder what you think about God’s commitment to you…no matter what.

I wonder what you think about the idea that God waits for you with a warm cup of cocoa, just waiting to warm you up with Her love.