Newly Fallen Snow

Everyone watched as the snow fell for hours; the pureness, the stillness of the storm casting inches upon inches of snow on the ground.  The falling snow created a silence which, in turn, created a peace; a closeness with He who reaches far beyond us.  Centered in holiness, the world, marked by snow, invites exploration.  No tracks have yet been made in the newly fallen snow, these will be the first.  Initially, excitement rules the walk; steps are swift, straight and marked with purpose as the need to get to the top of the mountain intensifies.  Quickly the trek becomes laborious, the cold burning the lungs and everything looking the same, fear factors into the equation causing anxiety and worry.  The mind takes over urging the body to turn back; excusing the lack of drive.  The journey is halted with the intent to turn back when, in the silence, the snow begins to, again, fall and the mountain even more beautiful than before.  The trees glisten, the sun shining warm upon the cheeks, the birds chirping, and the top still calling.  To the dismay of the mind, the trek begins again, the heart speaking, guiding each step while verifying strength and courage from within.  Looking back, the freshly made tracks not longer existent under the new fallen snow.  Met with hunger, time has come to rest and refuel.  The beauty is breathtaking and the sound of stillness mesmerizing.  The top of the mountain calls, standing invites soreness which triggers the mind and its obnoxious torment: turn back, time is passing quickly, soon it will be dark, bad things happen in the dark, too many unknown factors exist here, wild animals and they sense fear, fear is what you know, fear is who you are, turn back and you will be safe.  As the mind attempts to steer the trek, an eagle cuts through the tree with such grace and beauty that the criticism of the mind stops as all attention is placed upon the eagle.  He owns his motion, deliberately cutting left and dodging right, he sees what he wants from almost two miles away and stops at nothing to contain it.  The journey is resumed yet with reservation; the need to continue is compounded by the desires of the heart and the speech of the soul, the Father encouraging the continuance. With the lungs burning and the body tiring, the mind slips in and out of influential speech, it is not until the top can be seen that all of the stress, all of the anxiety, all of the worry caused by the mind becomes but a distant torment and the world discovered as beauty from within the soul as the Father speaks, guiding the last couple of steps to the apex.  Nirvana achieved, peace and joy fills the soul as understanding floods the mind, that which one was an obstacle now a lesson of the heart, perpetration of the soul, of the Father’s will to bring close His children, to offer His love, guidance and protection.  This trek is our faith journey for when we first begin, excitement and intrigue guide each step firmly packed with love and courage.  As the trek grows complicated, we start to wonder and wander thinking the course too difficult, that perhaps, the bunny slop should have been the starting point.  Obstacles delay our journey, sometimes they even make it come to a complete stop as the mind constantly be-raids our decisions to explore in faith and rely upon love.  Fatigue sets in and sometimes we find ourselves hiding in the shadows, fearful of what is to come.  The snow falls and reminds us of beauty and in the silence we hear the call of the Father, we feel His gentle touch which strengthens us to continue on the journey we begun so very long ago.  It could be with a flip of the switch where we find ourselves, again, by the roadside waiting for a lift back to our starting point thinking the trek too difficult or maybe unequivocal to the effort.  It is then we see the eagle, his flight purposeful yet seemingly effortless and it is his flight which inspires the return to the trek.  The eagle is God, He know what He wants, He wants us to know love, to be love, to walk with Him, to journey with Him, to become one in His love.  Thus, He swoops in when things seem hopeless, when that last obstacle seems impassible and He reminds us of our strength, our agility and determination, strength of our person in faith that we may continue to our destination to a home sanctioned in love and graced with understanding.  Clarity gifted with each step that we may identify love, identify the Father every step of the way and learn to silence the depressive, and sometimes abusive mind.  Our faith journey is marked with love, marked by strength tangent to faith that we may walk and continue our walk in spite of the mind, in spite of that which humanity deems important.  The Father, faith, love, these are what is important and discovered as such along the silent trek in the new fallen snow.  Walk, listen, respond with the heart as the Father speaks and guide via the soul.  The snow will fall as will the silence, it is in this silence that we must discover our purposed faith and our motivated love.  Go, walk, listen, discover, act; the Father’s presence maintains our sanity when we hear His words of the soul.  The snow is falling, the Father is calling, faith is leading...go.