snowflake bentley

SNOW!

As the first snowstorms of the year come blanketing the forest and fields outside my window, I find my spirit awakened anew with wonder, mystery, and excitement.  

In our busy rush, most of us find snow a pain in the ass as we shovel it of our sidewalks, to get to our cars, to brush the snow off our cars, to brush off our windshields, to slip/slide our way to work.  Rarely will we slow down to contemplate the beauty of the white wonder that blows into our lives.

Perhaps if we were to see it with the eyes of Snowflake Bentley (http://snowflakebentley.com/), we might have a deeper appreciation for what we so callously push out of our way.  Snowflake grew up in Jericho Vermont which happens to e a place where some of the most perfect snow fall son the planet.  

From a young age he was fascinated with the beauty of the crystals falling so abundantly from the sky.  A good snow storm was an opportunity to head into the deep woods to enter into the beauty of snowflakes.  He would bring a soft black cloth and examine the intricacy of individual flakes, discovering unimaginable delicate detail in these tiny geometric wonders.  His deep passion was supported by his parents who, though not wealthy, bought Bentley cameras and a microscope to enable him to enter more deeply into this magic world.  Snowflake later became a pioneer in using the microscope in his photography of snow crystals.  His photos were published in National Geographic and throughout the world, people witnessed the magic world of snowflakes in a new way.

In pondering snow, I sometimes think God is playing with our minds.  Try to get your mind around six-sided crystals piled 40 feet high all over Alaska, the Himalayas, two foot snow storms in Vermont, the legendary powder of Utah and Colorado, the 600" of "Sierra Cement" that falls on the cascades year after year, decade after decade, century after century, and no two alike.  Not only all different but astoundingly unique. 

"For to the snow God says, "Fall on earth . . . From the breath of God ice is made" (Job 37).

The next time your hurriedly brush that snow off your car, let a flake or two fall on your coat sleeve.  Look at the intricacy of a single flake and perhaps you might find yourself blessed with the very breath of God!

Come join us for a ski!

Rock