Snowy Grace Slow Down

I got to run in the snow today!  It was pure heavenly bliss.  Okay, part of the bliss may be based on the fact that I've spent the last couple weeks stuck in my house with a sick child so any run outdoors feels awesome.  But, I really do enjoy running in a light snow.  There's something so refreshing and well, fun about it.  I feel like a kid when I run in the snow.  I had flakes landing on my lashes and even in my mouth while I ran and my black running jacket was half white within seconds of heading out the door. While we had big flakes falling, the build-up on the ground wasn't too terrible, perhaps just a half an inch of a slushy snowy mix.  It was enough to slow me down and soak my shoes (yes, I ran to the sound of "squish, squish, squish") but not enough to keep me away. My husband tried to keep me from going.  He came home and mentioned that it was slippery and reminded me how ticked off I'd be if I wound up slipping and hurting myself at the start of my marathon training and just before our 10K race this weekend.  Really, he wasn't worried about me as much as he was himself.  He didn't want to live with me if I had to cease training for an injury.  Lucky for him I didn't slip!  Lucky for me I took the chance because the run was great.  I took it slow and really, it wasn't all that slippery.  There was only one hill I walked down because of the risk of falling and by the time I was 3 miles into the run the sun came out anyway.  It wasn't long before my path was mostly just a big ol' puddle.  Now my shoes were making a sound more like, "slap squash, slap squash, slap squash".  It was still a fun run.  When else do I allow myself permission, as an adult, to get my shoes soaking wet on purpose? 

What else was great about this run?  The slowing down (cause you know, I'm so fast otherwise - ha!) gave me time to ponder God.  It was actually the slowing down that spoke to me.  Snow is often equated with cleansing.  How often do we hear, "a blanket of white snow covered ..." and think of God's cleansing power?  Today's run, however, reminded me that when we're in a time of cleansing we need to slow down and take time to enjoy it.  Enjoy it?  Okay, true, it's not always enjoyable to be cleansed by God.  It can be a painful and messy process.  There is a sloughing off of the old and dirty that must be endured.  I know that I for one, don't always welcome the process.  In fact, I can often be found running from it much like the filthy toddler who hates bath time.   God is God though and being cleansed by him is a beautiful thing.  As I watched the snow falling around me, covering the bare path before me, the grass and dirt, the homes, the mountains in the distance, I realized that this is what walking with God is all about.  It's about letting him cover me with his grace and in order to do that, I need to slow down.  I can't keep running full speed ahead or I will miss what He has for me and rather than getting completely covered in his grace I may only receive a dusting.  I want more than a dusting of God!  The snow creates a beautiful landscape of the earth and God's grace creates a beautiful spirit within me.  I want that spirit.  I want people to look at me and see God's covering over my life.  So I will take time to slow down and allow God to cleanse and purify me.  I will look out and see the beauty of the process.  God's cleansing grace is not a cold punishment I must endure.  It's a loving gift from the Creator of my life and I want to taste and feel it's soft, wet flakes on my tongue as I run through the sloppy slushy mess life can sometimes be, secure in the knowledge God is with me.