After the Snow
Rev. Diane Rollert,
15 January 2023
Here in the city,
Mount Royal rises into clearing skies,
an opening of blue out of grey.
The storm has passed,
the air crisp with renewal.
Mountains of snow wait for removal
at the corner of each street.
Sometimes we complain
too much about the weather.
We curse the time it takes
to clear the walkways.
We forget to give thanks
for the army of workers
out late at night
and early in the morning,
a parade of trucks and small plows,
filling the streets then disappearing,
taking away the inconvenience
of snow, beautiful,
confounding,
snow.
If only we had such an abundance of resources
to remove all the obstacles in our lives,
to toss all our burdens
as swiftly into the river late at night,
to awaken in the sunlight
with the weight lifted
from our souls.
Everything is ever changing.
Nothing remains static.
Our bodies,
our minds,
our hearts,
the material world that surrounds us,
the snows that come and go.
Here we are called to look beyond ourselves,
beyond the small annoyances of daily life,
to see our neighbour,
to do the work,
to be part of the transformation still waiting to happen,
to live accountably as a way forward into joy
and not fear.
The voice of Martin Luther King
calls to us:
"We are tied to a single garment of destiny."
Amen, I say.
May we give thanks for this tapestry of life
that we are weaving together.
Out of our past,
out of our regrets and missteps,
out of our hurts and disappointments
may we rise together
to share in this ever evolving faith in the future.
After the Snow