Snow Hill Disciples

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…” Isaiah 1:18

I had papers to grade and projects to finish but as I sat at my desk looking out my classroom window at the big snow hill, all I could do was watch kids and laugh.  If a child came home and said they didn’t do anything fun at school I can guarantee that child was not on our playground snow hill today!  I watched the big kids and the little kids.  I watched them play together and I watched them play separately and I learned and laughed a lot!  That snowy wonderland outside my window made me think about how much discipleship is like playing in the snow; here’s what I think…

*King of the hill:  It’s gotta be God!  Even the most skilled competitor can lose their footing and tumble to the bottom of the heap. Only God can stay on top round after round because when we try to be King we slip, slide tumble and loose our way after a round or two.

*Jump in with two feet plumb to your knees: being a disciple is worth the wade into the deep.  The kids who went all in, laughed the loudest, had the most fun and lived each minute of their snowy recess to the fullest.  They came in messy, wet, tired and completely used up because they packed in the most fun, had the fewest reservations and played like they meant it!  That’s how I want to arrive in heaven don’t you?

*Don’t be afraid to leave your mark:  don’t be afraid to let the world know what you stand for and that you and Jesus have been there.  After sliding down the hill the kids would run to the wall and get a snowball and write or draw on the brick wall.  By the end of recess there was hardly any natural brick color visible on the outside of the building.  As I pulled away after school I could see the evidence of the way the kids had played; they had left their mark.  What kind of mark do I leave?

*There is power in the exit:  Inspired by Penguins the game became a fabulous contest of who can exit the snow hill best.  There were jumps and flops, belly slides, flip to your britches and slide, knees first and any other creative way to get to the bottom of the hill you can imagine.  The best part was the way they cheered each other on like they had each won Olympic Gold for the creative way they got their nylon covered bodies to the bottom of the hill.  The big kids just cheered because they are too cool to wear snow pants to school and they couldn’t compete with the slippery little guys.  As I sat watching and sometimes even clapping from inside my classroom I was reminded of a simple thought I heard years ago; “When you exit a room, do the people who were there know you love Jesus?”  There is power in the exit my friends!

*Get comfortable being uncomfortable:  I saw snow in hats, in mittens, in faces, ears and boots. I saw kids who wanted to cry when they landed face first in the snow but they were having too much fun to bother with tears.  It was cold and wet socks and soggy mittens aren’t comfortable but sometimes being uncomfortable is worth it!  Life is full of trade-offs and being a disciple is not for sissies and standing up for the Man who gave his very life for us is sometimes uncomfortable…but OH SO WORTH IT!

*K.I.S.S.:  Keep it simple silly!  Today was a beautiful lesson in the joy of simple things.  We shouldn’t make being a disciple rocket science…just shut up and follow!

*Sometimes you just gotta eat some snow: Go ahead…dive in and live a little.  Follow Jesus, raise your hands when you pray, dance to some praise music, close your eyes and lift up your arms like a toddler wanting to be picked up by their Father…worship like nobody’s watchin.  Some of the kids ate a big scoop of snow every time they got to the bottom of the hill and munched on a snowball all the way back up to the top.  Others had just a tiny nibble off the end of a mitten and still others face first into a drift for a big gobble of cold, fluffy snowflakes…no hesitation, no reservation, no concern for anyone who might be watching.  I want to be the kind of disciple that goes face first into the drift to take in as much Jesus as I possibly can, how about you?

The papers still aren’t graded and the to do list isn’t any shorter but I learned a lot and laughed a lot and when the  bell rang at the end of recess, I had some great fuel in my disciple tank!

A Seed To Plant: Which lesson speaks to your heart?  Pick one and live it this week.

Blessings on your day!