Snow and Friendship

All weather is perfect, because God makes it. - St. Teresa of Avila

It has been quite a winter here in northern Virginia. In December we had a remarkable 20 inch snowfall ... bringing with it a little Christmas spirit! There had been a rather small snowfall earlier in the month and a few since, until this past weekend, when the Washington D.C. metro area received the mother of all snowfalls. School was canceled for Megan on Friday in anticipation of the storm, so I decided it was best to drive 'her' car, our all wheel drive Subaru Forrester to work just in case the roads proved slippery on my trek home. The first few flakes began to fall as I was pulling out of my driveway. The level of snowfall picked up throughout the morning, but because temperatures were hovering just above freezing nothing much was sticking to the roads. By 1:00 I had heard that the temperature was likely to start dropping so, I decided it was time to hit the road, besides I was developing a nagging sinus headache. The drive home - all 3.5 miles - was uneventful. By sundown the snow began falling harder, the temperature was dropping and our street was transformed into a ribbon of white. It was time to hunker down and enjoy what weather forecasters were calling an historic storm. I'm somewhat of a weather junkie, so I stayed tuned to the local news channels all evening long. I have never seen the meteorologists so giddy. I have to admit their enthusiasm was contagious. I called my brother, another 'weather freak' to report on our progress. "A foot already!" I informed him - that was around 10:30 p.m. I finally crawled into bed around midnight after snapping the last of my snow photos of the day. I wondered, as I dozed off to sleep, what our little piece of the world would look like tomorrow. I could hardly wait!

The snow was blowing harder than ever when I awoke the next morning. Our 4 month old dachshund, Holly needed to go out to do her business, so I grabbed the shovel and cleared a spot for her in the garden in front of the porch. As quickly as I cleared a patch, it filled right back up with snow. She ended up doing her business right there on the snow covered floor of our porch. Okay, by me. At least it happened outside!

All day long the snow poured down, sometimes at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour. When all was said and done - after 30.5 hours of continuous snowfall - we ended up with over 30 inches in our yard. Dulles International Airport located about 7 miles west, officially recorded 32.4 inches - so that's probably a pretty accurate estimation of what fell in our yard, too. As I headed off to bed after a long day, the stars were shimmering high in the night sky, promising a perfect day ahead.

Not only was I greeted early this morning with Holly's wet, precious, puppy kisses, but also by the most stunning sight outside my window. The post-storm sky was crisp and clear. The branches of trees heavy with snow were bathed in the low glow of the sun just peeking over the horizon. Except for a few birds flitting about enjoying their breakfast at our feeder, everything was perfectly still and beautiful. I thought about God's gift of creation and breathed a prayer of grateful appreciation. To Him all the glory!

As I finish this post, I'm reminded of my prayer early this season, "Please Lord permit us to have at least one good snow this winter!" (After all, I am one of those crazy snow lovers.) And I'm also reminded of the long ago prayer of a young stay-at-home mother, living far from home feeling lonely and isolated. In deep longing for the companionship of other young wives and mothers, she uttered a desperate plea, "Please, Lord send me one good friend." That young mother was me caring for three young children with one on the way.

Well, we all know the old adage, "Be careful what you pray for!" For not only have we been walloped with gargantuan snows this winter - with more promised two days from now - but God, in His infinite love and mercy, heard my plea. Not only did he send one friend my way all those years ago, but He blessed me with four amazing faith-filled and loving companions. For nearly 16 years we've grown in our faith and shared the many ups and downs of marriage and raising families. Our husbands share meaningful friendships with one another, too. Our children have grown up together, gone to school together and have forged their own friendships that promise to last a lifetime. So, yes, be careful what you pray for, God may just shower you abundantly - be it snow or friendship!