The photos came over the course of the day, the day after plenty of snow had fallen, probably more than many had wanted to see.
The photos started with a small mound and steadily, over the afternoon, it grew.
And grew.
And grew.
It soon became apparent the height to which it had soared was more than the height of the average man. Small foot holes had to be made even to get to the top.
We laughed and texted the mound would surely be around long into the spring, much like the mounds seen in mall parking lots.
Soon cars were not only driving by but honking their horns, lowering their windows, and giving a thumbs up. Then they were stopping to take photos. One could say it had become a showstopper of a mound.
We joked how, except for it being snow and not dirt, it looked like the mound from the movie “ET”, and wondered what it should be called. For a few hours, we called it the mountain.
As the sun set and darkness settled the text came:
“A neighbor gave them a light to put on top.”
In that very moment, it went from being a mountain to a lighthouse.
Life is like that at times. Circumstances can look impossible to scale, and then at some point, they begin to point us to the Light we need to draw us back to Jesus.
Jesus began to teach the crowd one day …
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown away and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
(Matthew 5:13-16, NASB)
Holding onto our faith is no easy task these days, sharing about it can be even more challenging. Society is not a friend to God, nor to His people. Our good deeds can have profound effects on those around us.
Salt was needed for cleansing and preservation from decay. We are needed in these days we are living to preserve godly precepts and God’s truth.
The light in us will be the quality others are drawn to if we but let it shine from our lives. We don’t need to clobber them with our words, causing them to choke and spit out the very words meant to bring life.
Our lives are meant to have a positive impact. May we guard our lives so as not to lose that influence; influence not meant to bring us praise but to bring glory and honor to God.
Our lives – lights set on a hill in the dark –
will draw those around us to the Father.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you. If you share on social media, the hashtag #LetsHaveCoffee would be greatly appreciated!
** I dedicate this post to those who made a snowy day fun, exciting, and yes, profound in many ways. xo
Photos taken by: David Tommasino
Video provided by: Daniel Tommasino
Today I am joining …
A daily prayer that our lives might have a positive impact – thank you for the challenge to be a shining light and so to change the perspective!
As we shine brightly, the darkness will be pushed back. Daily and intentionally.
How fun! The places I have lived don’t usually have that much snow–one time while in SC we had 12 inches. One son lives in RI and mentioned the heaps of snow that can accumulate in parking lots.
Sometimes we don’t want to “put ourselves out there.” Yet if we shrink back, we’re hiding what He gave us and not letting our light shine. In these days more than ever, we need His wisdom and grace to know how to shine for Him.
That mound was constructed by my cousins in New York 🙂
I so agree with you, Barbara, we need God’s grace and wisdom to know how we are to shine for Him. I’m thankful He is willing to fill the need.
The word pictures Jesus used to describe and to define us are certainly worth a long pondering…
Michele, I was amazed at how my thoughts formed over the course of the snowstorm. I am grateful God’s Word is alive and living and He applies it to the moments we are living.
The Light. Makes all the difference in the world. Amen?
Amen. May our lives shine with increasing light in the days ahead!
Such a cool story Joanne, and an even better reminder about letting our light shine for Christ!
Letting our light shine. Yes, this we can do. We’d probably be surprised at the myriad of ways we can shed Jesus’ light onto this dark world.
I agree with this 100%, Joanne. Our life is our message to others. Loved this line: “The light in us will be the quality others are drawn to if we but let it shine from our lives”.
Joanne, that mountain/lighthouse is AMAZING! I loved seeing it, and the analogy you drew to us being light in our world. This right here:
“We are needed in these days we are living to preserve godly precepts and God’s truth.”
I hadn’t thought about us being salt in this way in our world. Thanks so much for this word picture. It resonated!!
Dear Joanne, I found your post to be very uplifting. I also love the video too! Your words”Influence, not to give us praise but Glory and honor to God” so important in a world obsessed with social media. A good reminder to myself as well. Thank you!
Love your analogy. And we Texans are jealous of all that snow. I’m sure it would get old if we got it on the regular, but it’s a holiday on the rare occasion we get a few flakes here.
I love it how something like a growing pile of snow can bring people together, Joanne. And yes–let us shine are lights and use our influence wisely and carefully, to bring glory to God and never ourselves.