And Jesus answered and said unto her,
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part,
which shall not be taken away from her.
Luke 10:41-42
I caught myself thinking yesterday.
I know. What a statement. I suppose it implies that there are times I am NOT thinking. Well, yes, as a matter of fact, there are. So maybe what I could have said is I caught myself NOT thinking yesterday. Either one works. And each speaks to a new attitude, a new way of looking at things.
Here's the backstory.
We have recently moved to a much colder climate than we are used to. Complete with feet of snow and below-zero temperatures. It is taking some getting used to - I have taught my daughter to wrap a winter scarf around her neck, nose, and mouth so that she doesn't catch her breath in wind-chilly gusts of cold air. We are getting accustomed to layering our clothes and bringing our street shoes so we can wear the snow-and-ice-gripping snow boots on snow-packed sidewalks and slushy parking lots. We keep our personal blankets on the sofa so we can snuggle in during movie and TV time. I have added a new skillset to my teach-an-old-dog-new-tricks repertoire - I know how to start and run a snowblower, and I've learned how to throw snow up on four- and five-foot stacks using a push-and-whoosh shoveling style.
I think the snow started toward the end of November. Here it is March, and between the lake-effect, the lake-enhanced, the regular snow falls, and the colder-than-average temperatures, we still have at least three to four feet of snow filling our yard, and we have neighborhood snow banks that top out above roof level.
It's a lot of snow.
I am wishing for spring weather. I am wanting to see some greenery, some color. Less white and gray, more pink and yellow. I remember last year, about this time, I took my camera out and about in the neighborhood (yes, farther south from where we are..), and I caught some of nature's signs of upcoming warmer weather. I called it bud hunting.
So, since this location isn't showing any signs of spring, yet, I decided I would bud-hunt through my iphoto files, and begin posting pictures from prior years.
And here's the aha moment.
It was snowing when I decided it would be a good idea to post those memories. Big, beautiful flakes of snow falling into the backyard, falling on the driveway, clinging to the trees. I could see them gather, airy and light on the porch handrail, on the flag-holder, covering the old snow left by plows, filling in footprints. In the beginning of the season, when we first moved here, I loved to watch this kind of snow swirl and drift. Now, not so much.
What changed?
The only thing I can come up with is time and habit. I've grown used to snow, and it's overstayed its welcome.
Really?
Am I so looking forward to something new and different, that I am neglecting to see the beauty of now?
I've been reading from Beth Moore's bible study: Jesus. The One and Only. Years ago, Jesus had dinner at the home of Martha and Mary. Martha opened her home, but Mary opened her heart. Each made a choice. But it wasn't between right and wrong choices, it was between levels of good choices, levels of right choices. It is so easy for me to think of my choices in black and white - only one is right. I don't like snow.
But I do. I just don't feel like loving it right now, because I SO want to see and be in warmer weather. But the choice isn't between snow and warm weather. I honestly like them both. The real choice is in my attitude. How will I choose to feel about the snow while I'm looking forward to the spring? Hmmm....
In this study, Beth shows that between Martha and Mary, the choice was between good and best... But Beth's final words in the chapter had me thinking about my snow attitude...
Shall we allow good to become the enemy of our best? The choice is ours.
Oh God,
Help me to see the forest for the trees.
Help me to recognize the good and the good, and to realize I don't have to choose between them. Help me to glorify you and your creation - all of it!
Thank you for snow.
And Spring.
Thank you especially, especially for Jesus,
