First Snow

Yesterday, the Chicago area had it's first and earliest snow on record. On October 12, 2006, 3/4 of an inch of snow officially landed at O'Hare International Airport! The historical event was met with mixed reviews. The children at the school where I work gave academics a back seat as they gasped in awe at the flurry fury. Some of the staff groaned and declared the word "snow" a "four letter word!" Others, such as myself, marveled at it's soft beauty. To think no two flakes are alike. If you find yourself blessed to be in a bookstore with some time (and maybe even a dollar or two), look up this book: "The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty", by Kenneth Libbrecht & Patricia Rasmussen, Voyageur Press, October 2003. The magnified photos of individual snowflakes are breathtaking! It's hard to imagine that after viewing such unique beauty a person still believes all this detail and order to our universe "just happened" or "evolved". There is NO denying the intelligence found behind our creation. And the creation testifies to God's glory: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (Psalm 19:1-4; cf. Psalm 97:6) Then there is this awesome fact: "He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. By his power he churned up the sea.... By his breath the skies become fair.... And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! How then can we understand the thunder of his power?" (Job 26:7-9, 11-14) I like the last part (in purple). I look at the snowflakes falling, the sun rising in the Eastern sky, the power of a storm, the precious face of a baby, the roar of a lion and ponder..."these are but the outer fringe of his works..." What an amazing God!