July Snow – Chest Deep
The late July air is hot this week; dawn shyly hid
behind a blanket of fog caused by the high humidity. These are the days that try my patience. These are the days that cause me to risk my school
teacher wife’s wrath by looking out the window and stating, “One day closer to
fall.” Some thrive on heat and humidity,
but that is definitely not me.
The gift of modern weather prediction was of little help
to me. They have been discussing almost
nothing but this buildup of heat and humidity for the better part of a week
now. I have been verbally immersed in it
long before this day dawned hot and humid.
I guess it can be helpful to know what’s coming, but when the coming
challenging reality is predicted and predicted and predicted, it tends to wear
on one’s spirit.
I look to my St Francis statue for peace of
heart. He stands patiently. His eyes, as always, are cast slightly down
in humility. His face is serene. He is chest-deep in July snow – well he is
actually chest- deep in snow on the mountain.
He has the same demeanor in January when the real snow threatens to bury
him in a blanket of white.
You can’t see it now, or in January for that matter,
but as any depiction of St Francis should, his arms are extended outward; he
holds a small basket. I acquired the
statue in late winter one year at a parish fundraiser. I brought him home and immediately set him
out in the snowbank, and I actually
added a handful of birdseed to his basket.
It took just a few minutes for a chickadee to fly in for a bite to
eat. Despite its small size, St Francis
tipped over forward, the birdseed and the bird both spilled from his
basket. As the statue tipped forward, St
Francis literally lost his head. I had
to bring him inside and let him warm up so I could glue it back in place. At that point I gave up any spiritual –
romantic notions and left the birdseed in the bird feeder after that.
The little statue does help serve to remind me that there
must be consistency in faith and heart to achieve saintliness. Whether you are standing in life’s frozen snowbank,
or in snow on the mountain as a little Christmas in July, the lesson is to keep
standing, maintain your balance, and wait patiently for the Lord. The gift of the risen Christ is a peace that
the world cannot give. It is a peace
that surpasses all circumstance. All we
need to do is embrace it.
Now, if I can just hold out until the weather breaks.
“Wait for the LORD, take courage; be
stouthearted, wait for the LORD!” Psalm 27:14
His Peace <><
Deacon Dan
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