As darkness gave way to light I was greeted by a winter scene straight out of Narnia.
The clouds hung low and thick making sunrise little more than a subtle change from black to gray. But despite the dreary skies, everywhere I looked appeared to have been kissed by winter fairies.
Little white feathers clothed every exposed surface – each and every plant bearing a coat of the finest white down.
It didn’t matter if they were prairie grasses, sturdy trees, or nuisance weeds – all were covered in the soft feathers of rime ice (ice which forms when the water particles in fog cool quickly and freeze). Each plant had become a magical work of art-each one a beauty to behold.
Even the weeds were shrouded with the glory of delicate ice feathers. If anything, the full heads of the weeds allowed for an even more glorious appearance than that of the more beneficial grasses and trees.
The beautiful rime created a mask to hide the undesirable plant beneath.
Too often we spend our days applying our own forms of rime ice to our lives – seeking to mask our imperfections, conceal our weaknesses, and hide our failings.
Too often we only allow others to see the masked version of ourselves for fear they might reject us if they knew the truth.
Too often we seek accolades and acknowledgments to bolster others’ view of us.
Too often we buy the latest fashions, technology, car, and ________ just to make ourselves appear affluent and desirable to those around us.
Too often we fill our calendars with the right activities and meetings to make ourselves look good to other people.
Too often we only post the perfectly posed, filtered versions of ourselves for others to see.
But the thing about rime ice – the kind on the plants and the kind in our lives – is that it melts away.
As soon as the sun comes out, the soft feathers of rime will fall from the plants exposing them for exactly what they are. The weeds will no longer be masked.
So too in our lives, when the Light of the World shines on us, we are exposed for exactly what we are. No longer can we hide the weeds of our souls behind the shiny rime we have so carefully crafted in the fog.
But with the exposure comes freedom.
Freedom from the pressure to maintain our facade.
Freedom from the fear of being found out.
Freedom from the bondage of sin.
Freedom to be ourselves.
Freedom to grow.
Freedom to find a community to help us.
Freedom to walk in the Light.
Freedom to truly live.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7
