Snow of Gratitude

In America, I believe the Thanksgiving Holiday is much overlooked in its importance,  and we have so much material wealth that we have become ungrateful. We should remember that gratitude is an amazing thing… everything changes when we live a life of thankfulness and gratitude. Donna and I were blessed and truly very grateful to have been able to spend this Thanksgiving with longtime friends in Colorado Springs. The saying “the road to a friends house is never long” certainly rings true in this case. Old friends are a blessing from the Lord, and we are continually grateful for them. Plus, we had the bonus of snow-covered mountains and the inspiring Colorado landscapes.

Our first morning in “The Springs” began with an awesome, newly minted blanket of beautiful snow. Our friend’s house sits in a way that the back door and deck faces West, which means there is a spectacular view of Pike’s Peak across the snow covered roof tops and decks of the neighborhood.

For me, snow has always been a bit magical. Of course, I guess if I had to live in it for 4 or 5 months I may change my mind. But living in the South, snow is sparse and only stays a day or so if it comes at all. But this particular morning a day before Thanksgiving in Colorado, it was magical and had an air of mystery about it in the way it fell quietly in the night while we slept. This added extraordinary elegance to our view out the patio doors towards Pike’s Peak the next morning. The undisturbed brilliant whiteness on the trees and bushes made the morning cup of coffee really special.

We have lived in Texas for several decades and, like most of the South, snow is not a common occurrence. In fact, we are fortunate if we get one dusting a winter. Sometimes a few inches will fall, but not often. Because of this, I have never set up in a snow-covered landscape and painted. As always, I drag my easel with me when we travel, and I could not pass up the opportunity to finally go out and attempt a painting in the snow, and what better place than Colorado? It proved to be a bit more difficult than I thought, due to the wet nature of snow and the ever-present cold.

I mentioned the mysterious nature of snow in how it can fall silently during the night, or day and cover everything with a magical beauty. Snow is truly a unique thing to behold in all its glory. What equally fascinates me about snow is the way God uses it in the scriptures to illustrate an idea or to describe something. In Psalm 147 the Bible is talking about some of the attributes of God and some of the things He does. Verse 16 says:

He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes – Psalm 147:16

There are about 23 verses in the Bible that mention snow. Sometimes just to mention that it is God who make snow to fall, and sometimes to talk about being cleansed from sin, or as in Proverbs to talk about the actions of a fool (Proverbs 26:1) It seems that snow is a great teacher in the scriptures.

Often when I paint I contemplate the “riches of God’s grace” or His creative acts we see all around us, or the fact that the scriptures say in John chapter 1 this:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. – John 1:1-4

As I painted in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, these were the thoughts that occupied my mind a times…. Along with the cold.

The first location I was able to setup and paint in was Red Rock Open Space, not far from Garden of the Gods. (Note: Garden of the Gods should be called “Garden of God”, as it was He who created it) Carrying paint gear for more than a couple hundred yards is never an option for me; Painting locations have to be limited to short distances from car, unless I have a cart or other wheels. At Red Rock I found a cool formation about 75 yards from the car, just off a well-traveled trail.  The sun position was not optimal as it was almost shinning directly in my face, but the large black umbrella I carry did the trick of blocking its intense rays.

The hour and a half to two hours that I was setup there painting, the sun moved just enough to be almost directly in my face, which cut the painting session short a bit. These little plein air outings are always very informative in that they teach the painter things that can only be learned outside painting from life. The color is much more complex and rich. Shadows are never “black”, but transparent and rich in content. The downside is there is so much detail to deal with in the 3D space in front of you that the battle to simplify the scene is always raging. The limited time, the moving sun and other “elements” present make for a dynamic experience. (many folks walking on the trail stopped to chat) 

A couple of days later we drove up to Mueller State Park which was up towards Pikes Peak. It was beautiful! There were perhaps a couple feet of snow on the ground and it was a bit chilly. I saw several places that might make an interesting painting, so I went back up the next day with my easel. I set up in an empty parking lot and painted some aspens that were backlit by the low, midafternoon sun. It was 36 degrees, but I was grateful there was not much wind. After two hours of painting, the only thing that got really cold was my toes.

 I found the colors of the snow, the “white on white” of the scene that was before me very intriguing, and challenging. “White” aspen trunks and “white” snow; But the interesting thing was that nothing appeared pure white. Snow reflects light of the surroundings. The Aspens were blueish on one side, yellow ochre on the other, with intense highlights on one edge. The snow was equally rich in color; blue in the shadows, rich golden light where the sun came through the trees. It was a treat to attempt the painting in the awesome beauty the Creator has arranged before me in the cold, winter snow of Colorado.

It was a great reminder that God is Holy, and we are not. The Bible says the best things we can do are but filthy rags in His sight. We are sinners, unclean. But the snow tells the story of God’s amazing grace given to us through Christ Jesus. King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed to try to cover his sin. Imagine that in your local newspaper headlines. But then we read in Psalm 51 about David’s repentance and the grace of God.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8  Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9  Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:7-10

God can make the ugliness of sin be white as snow through the blood of Christ.

We see it again in Isaiah:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18

God is reaching out to us all. He uses His written word and the things around us, the things He created to help us understand. He uses something as common and beautiful as Aspen trees and snow to point us to repentance and a relationship with Him.