Peace like a snow day

Snow.  There's something about snow that brings an overwhelming sense of peace to me.   A blanket of white makes everything beautiful.  It doesn't change what's underneath, but for a moment, makes you forget and only focus on the beauty at hand.  For me, a snow day makes time stand still. 

I never thought I'd feel quite like this about snow because the beach is my favorite place on earth.  I grew up on the white sandy beaches of Florida, spending any free time enjoying every minute basking in the sun, breathing in the salty air, and hearing the waves hit the shore over and over again, each time returning to their source, unconsumed.  Looking out onto the water always reminds me of how GREAT our God is.  Running the sand through my fingertips reminds me of God's promises.  If you look throughout Scripture, God makes promises to several people using the grains of sand as a way to show that what He was promising to them was limitless.  My favorite passage using sand as an example is Psalm 139:17-18 "How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee."   How overwhelming to think that God's thoughts unto us are greater than the grains of sand!  God, the maker of the UNIVERSE is thinking about ME!  What a humbling thought!

So, back to snow-- my new second love.  Snow, that beautiful blanket of white that covers everything and makes us forget what's underneath and focus only on it, bringing peace along with it.   Do you have peace in your life?  Not fleeting peace, the kind that fades when "the snow melts" and our perspective changes.  I'm talking about divine peace.  Peace that knows no limits.  Peace in the midst of turmoil.  Peace that comes despite the most trying, the most impossible, the most overwhelming of circumstances.  Have you ever felt that peace?  There's only one source that type of peace comes from, not from the snow, not from the beach, but from the Lord Jesus.  He is the ONLY one that can give us peace, consistent peace.  Sometimes we can get so distracted by the details of our situation that we can no longer see clearly.  We let those details overtake us.  The "what ifs" of life are so toxic to our souls.  God never intended for us to take on all of life's worries.  He's the one that wants to carry those burdens.  He's the one that has more thoughts about us than the grains in the sand.  Whatever your circumstance is, give it to God.  He wants to work it out for you.  He wants you to focus only on Him, and let all of the other details fade away.  Have you ever stared at something long enough that everything else fades away?  When I was little, I used to play that staring game quite often.  You know, the one where two people have to stare at each other and the first person who either blinks or smiles loses the game?  In the midst of that game, as you are staring at your opponent, everything else becomes blurry when you stare only at what matters.    That's what Jesus wants for us.  He wants us to stare at Him so intently that everything else fades away.  All our worries fade away.   All our troubles disappear.    Don't get me wrong,  I'm not saying your troubles will go away and life will be perfect.    Jesus never said life would be easy.  We live in a broken world.  The troubles will still be there, but they will be out of focus to us.  When we are focused on the thing that matters, we can become bold and have faith that God will do great things in our situation because our only one focus is Jesus.  Give every day over to God.  Not just every day but every hour, every minute.   Stare ONLY at Him.   Seek ONLY Him.  "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."
That's what peace is.