Blessing or nuisance?

Yesterday, Winter Storm Diego dumped over a foot snow across the mid-Atlantic states.

When falling, the snow was lovely.

I love snow! It’s beautiful.

Walking in gently falling snow provides quietness and serenity. Snow covers imperfections and, for a short time, makes everything look clean and pure.

Snow can be a blessing!

Snow can be a lot of fun!

Remember the joy of sledding or building a snowman?

Aren’t there still remnants of that joyful child in each of us?

Even as an adult, I still love to play in the snow.

Many years ago, a big snow storm provided me with some much needed time off to complete an important task. I was a public school teacher, a mother of two young children, and working to complete an advanced degree. My dissertation was due in a few short weeks and I was behind!

I was blessed with the advent of a major winter storm and we were out of school for five days.

I finished my dissertation!

So many blessings from snow–beauty, serenity, days off from school or work, fun…

But…snow isn’t always a joyful or positive experience.

Snow and ice can cause accidents, power outages, lost time from school and work, damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles. Snow can even be deadly.

Snow can be a nuisance.

We can probably see both sides of this issue.

But, if you’ve visited my blog previously, you know I love to focus on the lessons I learn from nature. After considering the blessings and problems from Diego’s visit yesterday, I questioned…

Am I a blessing or a nuisance?

Sometimes I wonder why I ask myself such hard questions!

The answer for me (and perhaps for you) is that at any given moment, I might be one or the other.

Ouch…that’s tough to admit. What about you? Are you ever a nuisance? Do you sometimes…

• Put yourself into someone else’s business (when you shouldn’t)?
• Get impatient with others?
• Over react and respond in frustration to “minor” issues?
• Forget to complete an important task?
• Set your expectations for others too high (in comparison to those you set for yourself)?

During this season of Christmas, as we celebrate God’s gift of love to us, I pray that we can also celebrate our love for one another. I hope we can do our best to be a blessing to others–to make someone’s day brighter just because we brought joy to them.

Let’s be a ray of sunshine for others!

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35