Theology On Edge

Snow had fallen steadily all night long and in the morning I woke in a room filled with light and silence, the whole world seemed to be held in a dream-like stillness. It was a magical day…

                                                Raymond Briggs, The Snowman

Today we had a snow day.

Well, actually it was a freezing rain day. After waking early to help make the decision to close the college, I dozed for a half hour and then got up, staggered to the kitchen for my coffee, and into the day. I had loads of email, some planning to do, and 3 hours of meetings, which carried on as usual. Technology offers a lot. And demands much.

Although it was great to be in a cozier venue for my work, and I could work in my slippers by the fire, the day unfolded much as would any other day at the office. Even in our rural town, contemporary working life can be busy, noisy, a steady cacophony of conflicting voices and demands. A ferocious world gone mad.

I miss snow days.

When we were kids, there was nothing like the feeling of a snow day. After waking in a world of muffled sounds and dancing lights against the closed curtains, my sister and I got as close as we could to the radio and listened with baited breath for the announcer to name our school district.

SNOW DAY! YES!! We would cheer and dance and turn on the tv before getting chased outside to play. We made snow forts until dark and wished at suppertime that every day could be exactly like today.

As I got older, snow days became increasingly rare. But when they came, they were still just as precious. A few more minutes in bed, a leisurely breakfast, a coffee in front of the fire. A gift. For that day, an unexpected break from work came like a welcome friend to visit for a few hours.

Stillness and silence. And then sledding, shovelling, hot chocolate. A snow day came like a whisper in the midst of a dark and cold winter that promised you’d make it til spring. And on that day, you believed.

Today, I’ll close my eyes and remember the day I laid back in a snowdrift, looked up at the snowflakes dancing down towards me, and all the world was silent.