An April Snow Day

"Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity..." (Ephesians 5:15)

...even the snow days in April. 

We met for what will be my last Bible study of this round yesterday morning, gathering around our same round table in the back corner of our church with our coffees and our Bibles, ready to dig in to a jam-packed Ephesians 5.  This study has been a good one, thought-provoking and challenging and a good reminder that though we are all at different places in this faith journey, we are unique and beautiful and full of God's light.  We talked about our identify in Christ, what it means to call ourselves part of His body, and how our conduct, or the way we live, should flow in unique ways because of that identity.  We made a list on the board of the ways Paul encourages us to live, then unpacked each one, sharing the ones that are hardest for us to live out and steps we could take to be the kind of people that imitate God and walk as children of light.  We talked about living from a place of gratitude instead of grumbling, how we might better submit to one another in love, and how we can make the most of our days, seeing each opportunity as a place to bring a little kingdom glory into our otherwise ordinary.

And as I walked out of church to see the snowflakes dancing in the air, on April 8, I smiled.  I got home and declared it a snow day, one that required our coziest pajamas, a fire, and all the warmest blankets.  With a big trip on the horizon and a to-do list larger than typical, I had planned to make some progress and go into my week feeling ahead of the game.  But Paul's words from Ephesians helped me choose otherwise - for making the most of this day took on a whole new meaning.  I felt thankful to be inside as the snow piled up around us.  My heart was open and my senses wide awake to all the details of our day, and especially those of Cruz and Mila.  We ate tacos for lunch and laughed hard when Mila described her Sunday school lesson - something about Sarah wanting a baby and getting only peanuts in return.  We watched the Cubs play ball, cracked open one last puzzle from Christmas, and played games and drank hot cocoa, sneaking in a shot or two of whipped cream for fun.  We felt close, full of love, and completely content.   

For supper, we retreated to our cozy downstairs for real popcorn and Ferdinand.  We laughed some more, the kids did their best not to spoil all the scary parts for me, and at the end, Mila came and sat close, her arm tightly around my neck, every once and awhile yanking my head onto her shoulder to "protect me" from the bad parts that were about to happen.  And when Ferdinand and his friends found their happy in a field of flowers at the end of the movie, Mila hopped up to dance for the ending credits, only this time, we all hopped up to join her, too.  What started as dancing soon turned into a full on bull fight, pillows flying through the air, kids grabbing our ankles, and Daddy taking us to the ground in a pile of blankets, laughter, and feet in our faces.  

We ended our night with two more yeses, I snuggled under the covers with Cruz for a chapter of Harry Potter, and Beau sang Come Thou Fount with his guitar, singing her to sleep in the sweetest of ways.  It was one of the best of days, our snow day in April, one last opportunity to cozy in and squeeze out the beauty, the glory in the ordinary.