I'm Dreaming......

When people ask me where I live, I say Houston. When they ask me where I'm from, a very different question, I reply Nebraska! This entry, from December 5, 2009, is about something I miss very much about the Cornhusker State! 

Yesterday was a fascinating day at school and in Houston. You see, on Friday, it snowed. Because the ground was warm, very little accumulated. Still, it snowed constantly and heavily, at times, from our opening bell to the end of the final period. The news people kept referring to it as the Storm of 2009 so it must have some historical significance. In the twelve years I've lived here, this was the first snow I've seen. For many of our students, particularly our international ones, it was the first snow they had EVER seen. They were enamored with gazing out the window and I had to constantly refocus our attentions. At lunch, a time frame I share with some of our elementary children, the weather was the only topic of conversation. It might as well have been Christmas morning for our younger kids. And here is the great thing; it cost nothing.

Once a week, the bonus question on my quizzes-memory verses-tests is simply a prayer request and yesterday was the day. If the student writes down a petition for me to take to the Lord, they receive an extra point or correct answer. Perhaps not surprisingly, many of the requests centered around the weather. Some of the students were rejoicing and some asked for more of the white stuff. A number asked for safety for those traveling. Some wanted me to remember the poor who often aren't equipped for inclement weather. To be honest, I grew up in snow so it was not a big deal for me. One of the kids blurted out during some heavy flurries, "It's a blizzard!" I stifled a laugh but wished I had that same excitement. We become jaded to so much in life, even the change of seasons. I'm glad our young people could see the magnificence of the Lord's creation while I tended to see the wet tiles in the hallway. James told us in chapter 1, verse 17 of his epistle that, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." I think our students comprehended the truth of that verse as they stood transfixed by the shower of white drifting down from the sky from dawn until dark. I guarantee you, it was the best lesson they learned all day.

Applicable quote of the day, # 1:
"Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough.”Earl Wilson

Applicable quote of the day, # 2:
“When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow, 
we hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago,
and etched on vacant places 
are half-forgotten faces
of friends we used to cherish,
and loves we used to know.”
Ella Wheeler Wilcox

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com