Snow Miracle

My sometimes cold, broken, melting HEART

resting on the Solid Rock.

Walking on water, turning water into wine, and talking donkeys, the list goes on and on and on, but do we ever see 21-century miracles or do we just read about miracles in the Bible? Being aware that God still does perform miracles is a difficult concept to explain, is it just a coincidence or it was a fluke? No, really it’s a miracle, a sign from God.

On Thursday February 18, this is really where the “Snow Miracle” begins. My sons needed to clean out the snow boarding equipment that had been left in the car from the night before so A.J came out to help put the SNOW boarding equipment away and discovered that a rock in our yard had melting SNOW on it, the SNOW melted in a HEART shape, he was so excited to show me this, so I took a picture. Interestingly enough miracles that are written about in the Bible do not have pictures as proof of their existence, we do. A cold hard rock that has been in the same place for many years, outside of our house where it is past by numerous times in a day by the many people that come in and out of our home. Frankly, I only ever noticed the rock there because I hid a house key under it for my daughter one time. The snow melted on top of the rock literally in a perfect heart shape except for a little line that had melted quicker that made the heart look like it had a little crack in it. The SNOW ROCK could be thought of as a fun little coincidence, but was it? I think not, I thought it may be more significant than a cute picture and it was confirmed by today’s SNOW day that God was giving me the encouragement that I was going to need for the two days I had ahead of me.

“Move”-ing ahead 24 hours; I was preparing to leave for a winter experience with the Middle school and High school students from my church. The title for the weekend was MOVE. Close to 400 teenagers, all piled on to school busses and made their way north. Do you know how many different circumstances these kids are coming from? Not one of these students has the same life story; their stories are incredible to think about. How much life experience can a 12-18 year old have, you wonder? Well as I have said before, our student ministry represents real life: broken homes, family problems, drugs, sex, eating disorders, self mutalation, loneliness, longing to be accepted and suicide it’s a long list of brokenness that comes with the HEART of a student. So here I am in the mist of students some that I know, some I don’t know and some that have really seeped into my HEART.

It’s a mystery how a high school retreat will go; expectations are always there but rarely are they ever as intense as God has planned. My HEART is overwhelmed with joy when I see students praising God, talking about spiritual issues, trying to figure out what is right and wrong through God’s eyes, and committing to be a part of God’s plan, planning "to be used not replaced". Then here I am, a Christian for 30 plus years, touched by the lives of these teenagers. Feeling extremely inadequate to be used as a part of God’s ultimate plan when sure enough, I am reminded by “SNOW” that I was right where God wanted me to be. Although the experience of this past weekend did not go how I expected it to, God has placed an understanding of the greater picture in front of me. Then HE confirmed it today by giving me a SNOW DAY from work. I had the whole week off last week, went to the retreat, and was filled with so many different emotions and thoughts my HEART ached, so as a gift to me God sent the SNOW so that I could have a day of rest, reflection, prayer and worship. I am reminded today that God loves me and wants me to be a part of His plan just as I tell the beautiful young women I am privileged to lead at church.

Human HEARTS that appear hard and cold, are really just like rocks covered with snow. God melts our heart into the shape that He wants it to be. How? By placing us in the lives of people that we can love and gives us those that love us. Shaping our hearts involves some pain on occasion (like heat that melts snow) even the little crack in the SNOW HEART was a significant part of this weekend for me. Ultimately God will shape our hearts, if we allow Him to.

HEART shaped SNOW on a ROCK, SNOW camp and a SNOW DAY off of work to reflect on God's love! Oh how He loves me!!! I didn’t even mention that my husband and three of my five children were at SNOW camp. Too much love from God makes me need a day off to fill bottles up with tears. You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalms 56:8 I feel so much better, the ache in my heart for these teens is fading a little, but only until I see them again.