Nothing shuts things down quite like a blizzard (or a good snow, as was the case recently where I live in the Deep South).

You can actually sense life slowing down as the snow falls. Schools and businesses send people home as they temporarily close their doors; traffic begins to grind to a halt; and children look forward to being snowed-in for a while.

Growing up in Upper Michigan, blizzards were commonplace. As a child, I would sit and stare out my bedroom window, excitedly watching the multitude of huge, wet flakes fall and accumulate quickly.

Inches would turn to feet in a matter of minutes or hours.

Once the storm had passed, I couldn’t wait to get my winter gear on and head outside.

I would run out the back door, throw myself into the largest pile of snow I could find, and just listen.

Quiet.

There was absolutely no noise. It was surreal.

Even the wildlife had hunkered down and taken refuge. No birds were chirping; no squirrels were chittering.

It was just quiet and so, so peaceful.

The earth was covered in a thick, fresh blanket of white and everything was perfectly still.

I loved the silence.

I’m sure not everyone enjoyed blizzards the way I did.

Because, in addition to being incredibly beautiful, blizzards interrupt life. They’re certainly not “convenient” as they bring normal day-to-day life to an abrupt halt.

But, isn’t that what we need sometimes? To have our life quieted?

To sit with a cup of hot cocoa or fresh coffee and remember that our life is not our own (Jeremiah 10:23)?

Or perhaps, to just pause from all our busyness and remember that we were never created to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders (Philippians 4:6 & 7)?

To go out and build a snowman with our kids and consider how precious our time actually is with them (James 4:14)?

We can get so caught up living life that we become immune to how depleted we actually are – body, mind, soul, and heart. As we scurry from one thing to the next, we can miss the subtle ways we’re drifting apart or disconnecting from our families.

Sometimes, it just helps to be snowed-in and reminded that God is on His throne, has everything under control, loves us deeply and knows exactly what we need today.

(And, if you’re not living in an area where being snowed-in is a literal possibility, perhaps you can block off a day and just pretend.)

“How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year.” (Thomas Wentworth Higginson)

Until next time, Grace and Glory!