Record snowfall in Pennsylvania.  Last weekend we (State College) had 14-17 inches, while parts of the state went close to 30.  Then this week we got another 8-10 or so.  In some parts of the state the roads/whether were so bad they were even asking the snowplows to stay off the road!

Meanwhile we had all the usual snowfall blessings: Snowdays, 2 hour school delays, breakfast with my family at Waffleshop on a weekday, sidewalks to shovel, scenes of sledding, and trying to navigate the Harvest Fields hill in a mini-van!  I’m sure I could come up with other snowfall blessings.  In fact in a earlier blog post I talked about my great memories of snowdays and snowstorms — Snowdays.

So it just got me to thinking, put an imagine moment in my mind — what if the blessings of God were like snow in a snowstorm?  Can you imagine?

• – Hey looks like they are calling off school today, just too many blessings all over the place.  It’s a blessing-day.
• – Jake and Josh, don’t forget I want you to go out and shovel the blessings off the sidewalk.  People can’t even walk past our house, the blessings are piled so high.
• – Did you see those kids out in the park?  They are up to their butts in blessings, it looks like they are having so much fun.
• – Sweetheart, there is nothing I like more than sitting with you, by the fire, just  watching the blessings softly in our neighborhood.
• – Or my favorite — Looks like we’ll have to cancel church on account of the record blessings-fall.

Well anyway, you get what I mean.  It was just a rich image in my mind today of Malachi 3, when God says, “Test me in this (God is challenging the people to be generous.) and see if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room for it all.”

Two thoughts come to my mind:

1) Thank you for your generosity these last few months.  Without a great deal of fanfare, you gave over $125,000 in the 1% offering, another $6000 to bless local families this Christmas, and then over $22,000 to give Haiti Hope.  And I’m thinking, let it snow Lord, let it snow!

2) In Ephesians 1, Paul relates that those who are in Christ, have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing.  Think about that.  I think our problem is that our minds immediately add the word “physical” when we hear the word “blessing.”   We want the snow outside to represent every physical blessing we desire.  But God has given us every spiritual blessing — NOW.

What if the spiritual blessings were of greater value than the physical blessings?  If they are available now; if blessings like peace, forgiveness, love, joy, patience, wisdom, community, and a deep connection to God are available now, and I don’t feel blessed, then is it a problem with God’s giving or my receiving?

It is my prayer that the days ahead will include a blessing-day or two, days when you are so overwhelmed with the blessings of God, the spiritual blessings of God, that you have to take a day off and just savor the blessings.

Meanwhile — go shovel your sidewalk, so that someone doesn’t slip on the remnant of past blessings.  :)