Here in Anchorage we are finally seeing signs of the snow melting and even some bare pavement. I have been wearing my Keen sandals as an affirmation that better weather is coming. The town and homes still have mountains of snow. In previous years it takes until the end of the summer for the larger piles to melt.
It has been interesting to watch how a large pile of snow melts. The melting happens on the bottom and inside and so you see streams of water running out from under the mountains of snow. The snow can be melted much more than you realize just by looking. If you are the kind of person who notices how high the pile was you may notice the piles of snow getting shorter. My dog has been climbing the mountains of snow in the back yard and hurt his knee because the snow looked firm on the top but when he stepped - his leg post holed and he tore his ACL.
Whenever I have tried to make significant changes in my life it has felt like what I have observed as the snow has melted. I make changes and inside I feel like they are large leaps of change. However, often on the outside no one even notices. That can be frustrating. Working diligently to improve oneself and it isn't visible.
We are going to have to be patient as the snow melts. It probably will not disappear as quickly as we would wish. The same is true for each of us as followers of Jesus - we answer God's call to journey forward and be and do more than we have done in the past. We will need to be patient as the change will happen gradually and perhaps others will not notice at first.
The comfort we have is that we are being faithful. We know that God is not going to give us instant gratification just because for a week we have been reading the Bible daily or setting aside time to pray. Like the melting snow, God works in our lives from the inside out as we seek to be faithful.
