Living in Louisiana, snow is a rare visitor. We usually venture to New Mexico or Colorado for a snow-fix, to ski or to experience a winter wonderland. When we travel to those “foreign” lands, we go prepared with clothing, accommodations, winterized transportation, and an enormous dependence on the native citizens who understand life in the snow and mountains.
Back home on February 15, 2021, north Louisiana residents awoke to a blanket of fluffy, pure-white snow. The blanket became a mattress with many layers of covering. With a few days warning, my home turned into a dwelling cut off from the rest of the physical world. In the past, snows dissipated within a few hours, leaving a faint memory. Not this time with Winter Storm Uri. The accumulation grew and decided to stick around for five days.
I know you snow animals of the north think I’m ranting about nothing. What’s the big deal about eight inches of snow—and ice? Well, I learned many lessons from the snow.
Here are my top five:
- Admire in awe—mostly from a distance. 10-degree temperature and layers of ice are not friendly companions.
- Practice patience—do not panic. It’s easy to be in “hurricane” panic instead of begin practical. Grocery shelves emptied and visions of starvation set in. This, too, shall pass.
- Counter boredom with creative ventures. After very few ventures outside, the inside walls could close in tightly. Puzzles, games, new or old recipes, hot beverages, movies, cleaning, reading. Don’t let cabin fever win!
- Praise God for sharing His majestic creation. The world covered in clean white snow pricks the heart to worship in the beauty of His gifts—this time with an unexpected snowstorm.
The sun came out on Friday, February 19 and began its job of changing the shimmery icy snow fields around my house to a world of green daffodil shoots ready to sprinkle the area with yellow, white, and orange blossoms very soon.
How has an unexpected interruption affected your life in a good way? I’m thankful for the lessons.
Rumor has it that the world is about to open up, offering a new normal. All I know is that I have learned lots of lessons that I hope I will implement in my life after the pandemic. Each of us has carried different burdens, perhaps bringing some from before the stay at home mandate–health, finances, jobless, depressed, loss. Most of us did not need the addition of a pandemic in our already hectic, over busy lives.
