We had our first snowstorm of the season on December 16. It was reported to have been the largest snowstorm in a few years. In my location, I think we got about a foot of snow. My neighbors were a blessing and helped me shovel the snow, but it was a mess to try and get around. It was hard to even get off of my front porch. The little bit of snow that melted would refreeze at night, and despite salt and care, there was some ice on the pavement. And then some really cold air came in. The highs were predicted to be around freezing. The snow wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. But then a few days later, the temperatures got into the 40s. I would hear the melting snow trickling and dripping at night, but it was slow. A tiny bit would melt away each day. It was nothing miraculous, it was slow and unremarkable. It was almost impossible to get from my patio to my actual yard. Then on the 23rd, it got warmer. By that night, the snow in the yard went down substantially. All of the snow melted on my patio steps, and I could at least get down to the bottom of the steps to look at the sky. It felt good after so many days.
Then, the morning of the 24th, Christmas Eve, happened. It was warm and rainy. Literally overnight, I went from being able to see a few spots of grass here and there to a yard with only a few lingering spots of snow. It was a complete reversal of just 12 hours before. All the damned piles of snow that I had to carefully climb over to get to the street were completely gone. And there were a lot of puddles in the way. The yard was a muddy mess. But the snow indeed melted! A few days later, there was no trace of snow. It was dry, and it was over. The big snowstorm was an afterthought.
I am someone who loves life lessons. I look for lessons in real-life circumstances, I look for metaphors for life. And as I walked out into the mostly snow-free yard on Christmas Eve morning, I realized that the amazing melting snow was a metaphor for what life felt like in 2020. This big, messy storm came and crippled us. It froze us and didn't allow for much getting around. If you tried to walk in it, you might fall. The snow got old and ugly, in large dirty piles. And it cleared slowly in the beginning. Nothing miraculous about it. But then, the rain and warmth came and washed and melted it away. Of course, there was a muddy mess afterwards and you probably didn't want your shoes dirty. I had to practice my inner Mary Poppins when I had to basically levitate over the dirty water in the gutter to get back to my pavement. Eventually, though, the grounds dried. The last part of that hasn't quite happened with our world yet. At least not here in the United States. We just got a vaccine, and cases are nowhere near going down yet. But there will be a time coming when this nightmare starts to melt away, much like the snow did. And it may go quickly.
If you are reading this, I hope you do not have a friend or loved one with COVID-19. I hope you have not lost your job or business. I hope that your relationships have not suffered. But the likelihood of all of those things are very rare statistically. Even if none of those things apply to you, there may come a time in your life of a snowstorm. One will come into every part of our lives; it is part of being a human being on this earth. There have been more than my fair share in my life. But there have also been times where the snow just went away overnight as well. It is not to say that is the norm and that we should just wait until something happens like that. We must all work hard and do the very best we can to live this life to the fullest. We must create opportunities for ourselves and never wait for things to happen. But I have also had times where even with a phone call, my life changed instantaneously. Most recently, it happened at my job. It was a random night in June when I checked my email before I went to bed because I had forgotten to order some software my boss wanted me to and I had to check to see what it was. I never check my work email before I go to bed, ever. I have put boundaries on that because I need to get my proper rest so I can function well the rest of the day. I would have never, ever expected an email that said one of my co-workers was leaving the company without a two weeks notice. Did I want to take over her responsibilities? And even more remarkable was that at the end of that month, the account I had been working on downgraded their services. I would have been without sustaining income had I not been offered that position. There are more stories like that in my life, maybe I will tell some in the future. You may also have stories like that.
My hope for 2021 is that our snowstorm and international nightmare melts away. It may be muddy even after the snow melts, but there will be a time when we do not live like this. We are ALL looking forward to that day with much anticipation. And I want to remind you that even if it is not on a national level, the snow may just melt overnight in your life. You may get a call that your friend or loved one with COVID has recovered. Your phone may just ring someday when you are not expecting it asking you go to back to your job because your business has opened once again. Or, it could be something good but totally different. I promise you, you will know.
My December read this year was a thoughtful book by Ellen Cooney called One Night Two Souls Went Walking. It was the story of a hospital chaplain who had the unenvious job of ministering to people who were dying. My favorite quote from that book was a wish from the unnamed chaplain who was holding a vigil for a sick person. She said:
"...whatever they'd been through already, whatever they felt in their darkest moments, Please imagine what hope is, and please then have it."
That is my wish for you and me for 2021. It is a new year, and I truly believe better days are coming for us. Cling to hope.
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