When we first moved from the deep-south to the mid-west, I devoted many-an-hour to my favorite new past-time:
Watching fresh snow fall from the heavens.
(A sky-show we Sunshine State girls dream of all our lives.)
Rhythmic magic, drifting in peaceful purpose, as if called for calm by its Maker.
And, it didn’t disappoint.
Until that day in May, six months later.
Having arrived early to pick up my kids from school, I was enjoying my last moments of quiet for the day, when, to my southern surprise— fluffy, fat drops, clothed in white, began dancing along my windshield.
Seriously?
Does it never get warm around these parts?
Hey, Mother Nature, in case you’ve lost your calendar…it’s Spring!
This Florida girl had had her fill of freezing weather, thank you very much.
Looking out my window as I write this morning, delicate snow-puffs catch in the wind this early spring day.
For many, it feels like the winter that just won’t quit this year.
Soft beauty elegantly falling—in the wrong season.
And yet, there’s just something about snow that makes you want to forgive it.
Maybe it’s the south in me, but even when snow pushes the boundaries of its season, I can’t help but be charmed by its gentleness.
A grace shower, it is.
Seems to me that beauty is subjective. That it adapts to its surroundings, malleable to the most unforeseen of moments.
The barely-visible green of blossoms pressing up against lacy, white snow—two seasons converging.
It occurs to me that this is Hope in all its glory. 
Tweet This
The long winter of pain, bumping up against the comforting spring of relief.
Beauty beneath the surface—greeting beauty in the light.
Beauty upon beauty.
Both submissive to their parts of the story.
Winter and Spring. Rising up, becoming one.
Bearing witness to Hope.
<a href="http://brendabradfordottinger.com/chasing-community/"><img src="http://brendabradfordottinger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Linkup-button.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="250" /></a>
It’s a casual, pony-tail & sandals environment around here, but a few important reminders:
- Please remember to visit and leave some encouragement for other friends who’ve linked-up today — this is the heart of community & your words of support could be just the thing another friend needs to hear today.
- Please only share like-minded words of spiritual encouragement and insight.
- Please grab the #ChasingCommunity button, or link back here underneath your post. (So others can find us and join the fun too!)
- By linking up & leaving your email address you agree to receive #ChasingCommunity updates.
Thank you for bringing your dish to the table–May your ministry of words find community here.
Loading InLinkz ...
I love this, Brenda. A grace shower of snow. Beauty is, indeed, a matter of perspective. Oh, how I need to open my eyes!
Right there with ya, friend. Before I edited it out, the last line of this post used to be, “Lord, may we have eyes to see.” He places beauty in often overlooked places, doesn’t He? xoxo
Brenda,
Beautiful post…two seasons bumping up against each other…one bringing hope. yes, how can we not forgive those beautiful plump flakes that fall….I guess because we don’t have to shovel them lol. Praying for hope and renewal all around.
Blessings sweet friend,
Bev xo
Haha, so true. Mother Nature also brought the sun today to melt it all away, didn’t she? Hope you’re having a good trip. Can’t wait to hear the update when you return. xoxo
It’s such a God moment to experience and appreciate the beauty in the simple things of life-like a spring snow. However, I am happy that this storm missed us here-I’m ready for Spring! Thanks Brenda for the beautiful perspective, as always!
You and me both, friend. I’m itching to sit on my porch and read and think. I seem to do my best thinking while sitting on my porch. 🙂 (I keep telling myself I’m gonna have to get one of those tall outdoor heater things so I can sit outside in the winter.) — Glad the storm missed you, and hope you get some springy weather soon, friend. xoxo
Beautiful word pictures, my friend! We’ve had an incredibly dry winter (cold, though). I long for some rain or snow to soak into the brown and crack open the green. The desert always astounds me because it DOES get green-tinged despite the lack of moisture.
Oooh, I pray you get some wet weather soon. (And, hopefully in the form of snow since it is one of the most beautiful things in nature!) That is interesting about the desert green-ness. I’d never thought of that before. God is such a genius — creating this planet with the ability to sustain itself with all its different environmental needs. Good to see you, friend. xoxo
And still we “bump”–spring into winter; winter into spring depending on the day.
I know that March snow cannot last, and it’s so lovely today outside my window that it’s hard to be grumpy.
So true, Michele. Our high today will be 52. 🙂 I agree, snow has a way of chasing the grumpies away. Makes me want to do laundry and make soup and nest. 🙂 Thanks for sharing, friend. xoxo
I love how you can see both sides of the season, finding the beauty in it all. I’m here looking at snow today, content with the promise that spring will come because winter never stays. Grateful for the seasons.
I love that, Becky. “…Spring will come because winter never stays.” Great life lessons in that simple phrase. Thank you for sharing. I agree, so grateful for the seasons. Thanks for being here, friend. xoxo
Beautiful thoughts = sweet reminders…
🙂 Thanks for being here and sharing, friend. xoxo
This is exactly what I thought the other day when I saw it falling afresh.
“Soft beauty elegantly falling—in the wrong season.
And yet, there’s just something about snow that makes you want to forgive it.”
Love your writing, Brenda. I hope we can meet one day. xoxo
Wouldn’t that be fun…to meet! I hope so too, friend. — If you’ll ever be at She Speaks, I try to go most years if I’m able. (It’s in my backyard, so it’s the easiest conference for me to get to.) Thanks for your sweet encouragement, friend. xoxo
“Winter and spring, rising up, becoming one.” Love that picture!
What a beautiful post Brenda!
Thankful for you and your gift of encouragement, sweet friend. Thanks for being here and sharing. xoxo
I love your writing Brenda! It reached out to me like balm for my soul this frosty cold morning.
Awe, thank you for sharing that, Linda. Makes my heart smile. So glad you’re here. May spring find its way to your area soon. xoxo
Love your thoughts here, Brenda!
🙂 Lovely to see you, Leslie. Thanks for being here, friend. xoxo
Beautiful. As a Texas girl I can relate to how magical snow feels! laurensparks.net
We southern girls are fans of the white stuff, aren’t we. Oops, that didn’t sound right. haha. 🙂 Fans of the SNOW! 🙂 Thanks for being here, Lauren. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. ((hug))
I’m enjoying the LARain – the rhythmic, cleansing and refreshing nature of it all. And you are right – it reminds me of hope. Hope realized.
Thank you.
Glad y’all are getting some rain over your way. It’s been so dry in your state this year, hasn’t it? Hope shows up and overwhelms us in the most unexpected ways, doesn’t it? Thanks for being here, Nylse. ((Hug))
Your post today is a beautifully poetic vision of a God who can converge two seasons and cause us to stand in awe. I can read this over and over again.
Calvonia, thank you for your beautiful encouragement today. And, right there with you…so in awe of our great God. Thanks for being here and sharing today. ((hug))
for sure, it seems like winter won’t quit … ever. this is when hearing from our friends in the south and seeing life through their lenses offers us breaths of fresh air.
i’m breathing deep with every image of spring that’s coming my way!
((Hug)) Hope you get some spring glory soon, friend. xoxo
Cold here in Ga. we’ve had our dusting of snow, you have to be up in the mountains to get more. It is beautiful though, March going out like a lion really windy. Beauty upon beauty, lovely phrase, thanks Brenda.
Dustings of snow are perfect…you get to watch it falling like butterflies, but don’t have to worry about driving in it or shoveling it. 🙂 Thanks for being here and sharing your sweet comments, Rebecca. ((Hug))
Beautiful post, Brenda. It’s funny but here we braced for our 4th Nor’Easter in March. It did snow but nothing stuck & I found myself slightly disappointed. As I read your post, I realized there are times we may just not be ready for the next season. We try to hold onto the present. Other times, we want to rush through to the next one. May my heart find peace in embracing the current season and embracing the beauty in this moment. Neither lagging behind nor rushing ahead. But keeping step with our God who is over every season. Thank you friend!
Yes, so true. Love your insight, friend. Thank you for sharing it. — And, our snow didn’t stick more than 24 hours either, but it sure was lovely to watch its magic fall out of the sky. 🙂 xoxo
Brenda, I didn’t realize you’re a Florida girl! I am too — born and bred. Where are you from? I can only imagine that when spring finally comes fully, it will be very welcome. Our spring is on and with it the pollen and leaves. But the flowers are beautiful.
I haven’t lived in FL for close to 20 years, but I’m from Tallahassee. 🙂 (And, even lived a little while in your area. 🙂 ) I miss the beaches, but now that we’re in NC, we have some beaches again. (PTL) A porch and a beach are my two happy places. 🙂 We have some pollen here in NC too, but nothing like FL. And, the humidity here isn’t nearly as harsh as FL either. I bet the flowers are in full bloom by now where you are. They’re not quite blooming here yet, just a few confused crape myrtles so far. When we have some warmer late-winter days, some of them get confused and bloom early. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and sharing, friend. ((Hug))
A grace shower being snow, love this, it is soft and gentle even when it snows hard. We are experiencing lots of rain here in southern CA. We certainly need it but even with something so refreshing there can be drama, like mud slides. Heaven will be snow without the fleet and ice that is so dangerous, rain without mud slides and flooding.
Brenda,
So touched by the poetry of your description of snow. As a Southern gal too I hear you about enough is enough. Even here in Atlanta, I am nervously watching my blueberry blossoms that bloomed four weeks ago praying that one of the cold snaps doesn’t take them. We are certainly not suffering like folks in the Northeast but every Northeaster brings us the potential for frost. Thanks for leading this conversation of the beautiful creation God has made for us and also finding the silver lining when it snows in May ;0)
Thanks so much for hosting! I hope you have a fantastic weekend!
I smiled at your words today, Brenda. Not only because they speak about discovering beauty and noting grace glimmers in the everyday, but also because where we live there is rarely snow enough that settles long and stays, yet this winter it has! There’s a kind of bare bones beauty about winter’s elemental expression. Maybe we need that raw, pared back element to be ready for the abundance of spring? Our hearts rejoice to see signs of new, vivid colours of life and vitality poking out of previously barren and bare soil, just as we rejoice over Christ’s resurrection from the confines of the tomb. May we all learn to savour the beauty to be found in every season! 🙂
We rarely get a snow that lasts long enough to contemplate, so I enjoyed your thoughts here, Brenda. I am trying to be thankful for our spring winds … not my favorite thing about spring in the Southwest. 🙂
Oh that is a lovely way of looking at snow in May. Here in New England winter is hanging on and giving us a taste of what for. We’ve had 3 nor’easters since spring began on the calendar. I can smell spring in the air though so I have faith that her sweet little graceful self will be here soon.
Brenda, I so enjoy your way with words; your perspective. Our lingering season is a bit frustrating. Yet, I can’t deny the joy I feel when unexpected snow showers fall. It’s much like experiencing joy in the midst of trial. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.
Brenda, I especially enjoyed this post tonight. We’re having a unusually cold spring in Texas, and I was thinking the exact same thing. As the cool breeze wafts through our block, I’m thinking about your words, “Soft beauty elegantly falling – in the wrong season.” I love how God has no boundaries…seasonal or otherwise. Thanks for sharing.