"SNOW ANGELS!"

  By Michael L. Alumbaugh © 2024

 

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” ~ Philippians 2:3-4

 It was the first week into January! We’d come home in rain mixed with snow the night before, which isn’t unusual for Kansas. As the old saying goes, “If you don’t like the weather in Kansas, wait a little bit and it will change.” And it did. During the night the wind blew and the soggy flakes hitting the windows left over 3 inches of snow on everything and below zero blustery conditions by morning.

 Once it was daybreak, I took in the exquisite beauty. Everything was coated in white fluffy ice covered snow. But that meant the driveway needed clearing. I suited up in thermals, jeans, a warm thick sweater, swung a wool scarf around my neck, pulled on my coat, some gloves and ball cap, then headed out the front door.

 The wind had stilled. All was quiet. The snow glistened in the early morning sunlight. Pure white made everything look fresh and new. I grabbed my snow shovel and a broom and went to work.

 Within a few minutes my fingers were numb. I’d grabbed the wrong gloves. Returning to the house to warm up again and switch gloves, I was greeted by the sounds and smells of my wife cooking in the kitchen; the crackling of bacon frying, pancakes and eggs cooking away, and some much needed warmth.

 After a lengthy search, I found some warmer gloves and scooted back out to shovel more snow. As I finished around the cars, my son showed up with a shovel and broom in hand and began clearing off the vehicles. Within a few minutes we had pretty well opened a path to get out if necessary. Our next-door neighbors were busy clearing their drive as well. Exchanging greetings and small talk, they’d said the highways were closed and they wouldn’t be going to work, but were both on call..

 Placing my attention back on our drive,  I concentrated on the last bits of scrapping the snow into the street, As I finished I noticed the neighbors had disappeared. Then, my son. Looking around, I spotted them all headed across the street to another neighbors house to clear out her drive.

 She was a widowed lady and had a few health issues, though she seldom outwardly showed any signs of struggle with them. During the summer you’d see her out mowing or gardening, pruning her bushes or walking her dogs. But today there’d been no sign of any activity from her. I joined in the labors of love clearing her drive, assuming she must be gone.

 The four of us laughed and chatted away as we flung shovel loads of snow off the drive. Weary from a job well-done, we headed to our homes for a much needed warm up and hot breakfast.

 Once our sufficiency was suffonsified by the hearty breakfast, we set about doing our daily chores; washing dishes, sorting clothes, etc. After about an hour or so the doorbell rang. My son answered as I continued drying dishes. Hearing a stranger’s voice, I wandered over to see who it was. It was our neighbor lady all bundled up from across the street.

 “I just came over to thank you all for clearing my driveway.” she said, smiling. “You are all so special! I was thinking of you all as “Snow Angels.”” And with that, she reached out, handed my son a Tupperware bowl, turned and walked home.

 As he closed the door, I asked, “What was that all about?”

 “That was the lady we scrapped the driveway for.” He opened the lid. It was a fresh baked batch of chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies. I took the bowl and set it on the kitchen counter. They were still warm. As my son dug in I stepped to the front window to see where she’d gone. There she was, at our next door neighbor’s handing them a batch of cookies and returning to her house.

 Her gesture of kindness warmed not only our tummies but our hearts. It reminded me of Jesus instructions in Matthew 6:4, “[Give in such a way that] your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” Indeed, He had! Be a snow angel and remember, God our Father always rewards sincere selflessness in reaching out to others in need.

 

     Dig a Little Deeper: Proverbs 3:27, 11:25; Matthew 6:1; Colossians 3:23-24

 Published in the February 2024 issue of Black River Times