Snow Like Wool

Psalm 147 links the wonders of creation with God’s providence and grace. The previous post focused on the first part of the psalm, especially v 7-9 that urges us to sing our thanksgiving to God for the gift of rain that sustains all living things.

The closing verses of this psalm swing to the opposite season with a sharp reminder of winter – the irresistible onslaught of cold winds, frosted windows, drifting snow and ice-pellets.

He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast?

The Secret Power of Spring Rain

Okay, the calendar may say Spring, but Nature has a mind of its own and treated us overnight to a cruel dump of wet, unwelcome snow.

Yesterday I took pictures of crocus shoots triumphantly announcing the new season. Today they’re buried in white.

Having endured 5 months of winter, I’m not about to let a spring blizzard get me down. I know what’s coming. I’m Canadian. I’m a man of hope. Still, I’m tired of winter and itching to get my hands dirty in the soil again, to participate in the annual miracle.

In the land of the Bible, the spring rains are vital for bringing the winter growing season to its climax. The ‘early rain’ falls in late October and softens the summer-hardened soil for planting. January brings the peak rainfall, but most vital is the spring rain, also called ‘the latter rain’, just ahead of the heat that plumps the harvest. No rains, no harvest.