Snow Shovel

You have heard the saying, "Be careful what you ask for. You might just get it." Well that was definitely the case last week. As Christmas grew closer, the thoughts or at the least the dream of a white Christmas once again entered our minds. We do it each year. We allow ourselves to think, "Wouldn't a white Christmas be nice?"

And it's no wonder we have these thoughts. Every Christmas special or movie shows it snowing on Christmas. Home Alone, Christmas Vacation, A Wonderful Life, etc. All of them have a white Christmas. And not only the programs but every ad on TV during the month of December shows it snowing.

So with our minds crammed with visions of snowflakes and the weather man predicting a "slight chance" of a white Christmas we foolishly allowed ourselves to wish, to hope, dare I say to pray for the ever coveted white Christmas.

We asked. And boy did we receive.

Here in Oklahoma City we ended up having the Blizzard of the Century and 14 inches of the lovely white stuff on the ground. The same storm dumped boat loads of snow from New Mexico across Texas, through Oklahoma and into Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. Before it was over most of the mid west was covered in white. A white Christmas was had by all.

With wind gust in the 40 to 50 mph range we had some dandy snow drifts and as I surveyed the 20+ inches of snow piled up on my back deck the one thought came to my mind.

"I sure wish I had a snow shovel."

I seem to wish like that a lot. When it is snowing I wish I had a shovel. When it starts to rain I wish I had an umbrella. And when my car won't start I wish i had jumper cables.

I wish for these things because when it isn't snowing I don't think I need a snow shovel. When it's not raining I don't carry an umbrella. And when my car starts I don't even think about jumper cables.

I am probably not the only one that does this. I think we all do this to some extent. We do it with shovels, umbrellas, and with jumper cables.

And sometimes we do it with God.

It takes an event for us to realize we need shovels and jumper cables and sometimes it takes an event to realize we need God.

A loss of a job. The loss of a loved one. Getting married. Planning a funeral. Having a child. Becoming a grandparent. Getting divorced. Hearing bad news from the doctor.

These are events most of us have faced or will face as we go through life. And as these events blow into our lives, much like the blizzard blew through town last week, we find ourselves wishing we had a God that was close by. And we wish we had Him today.

Yesterday you had a job so you didn't think you would need a God to give you peace. And last week you weren't planning a funeral so a God of comfort wasn't on your must have list. And last month your wife wasn't pregnant so the thought of needing a church to raise your child in wasn't even a concern.

But today, or this week, or this month you do need His peace, His comfort, or His church home. Now you need God. And you know it. But...

As the song "It's Never Too Late" by the group Steppenwolf says:

"You feel the guilt and loneliness,

and the God of your childhood you can't find

to save you from your emptiness."

Your car wouldn't start so you started looking for your jumper cables. But you couldn't remember where you left them.

The doctor tells you, you are seriously ill and now you can't remember where you left your God.

Don't wait for an event to start looking for Him. Look today. Look now.

You prayed for a white Christmas and look what you got.

Pray that you find God.

If you do. You will.

And you will be amazed at what you will find and receive in return.