Some folks have a tendency to believe that a bad day fishing is better than
a good day at work. Then along comes a day like today. The two inch snow 
that was predicted had turned in to a six incher, and more in some of the 
drifts. And at 3 a.m., it made for a pretty interesting trip to work. A 
half-hour later, I had the windshield cleared and backed up to the door to
load. By 5 a.m., the bread was loaded and ready to roll.

Everything went pretty well, considering the parking lots were far from 
being cleared. Everything that was taken in was either packed or dragged.
Around seven o'clock, it started getting light. I was headed down a 
two-lane highway, going to the “country” part of the route, and just 
starting to see the beauty of the first snowfall. Just a few more stops, 
then I'd turn and head north, to the top end of the route.

Just a few miles out of town, the countryside starts changing. The rolling
hills and valleys are considered to be the foothills of the Ozarks. With 
the snowfall fresh on the landscape, it was a quite a sight. The hilltops
were capped with snow, and the valleys were blanked with a deep white 
layer, drifting sometimes even deeper. The trees were laden with snow, 
their limbs drooping under the weight. As I topped the highpoint, I stopped
the truck just to look out over the landscape. The winter scene spread out
before me like a giant painting. With the white trees, and everything 
covered, and the gray sky background, it gave everything a quiet and 
peaceful setting.

I was surprised to see a beam of sunshine break through the clouds, and 
shine in to the crystals of ice and snow. The light broke into thousands of
tiny rainbows from the natural prisms. A small stream wound its way down 
and around the hills, its crystal water bubbling over the stones and 
gravel, and ran by close to the road. Just down and off to the right, a 
deer had stopped for a drink from the stream, and was staring, unafraid. 
The whole scene was like a moment suspended in time, not moving, just there
to be appreciated, savored.

At that particular moment, it was easy to feel very small, almost 
insignificant. And I realized that all of this, no matter how large or 
small, is God’s creation. And that nothing He created is insignificant or
unimportant to Him. Everything has its space and reason for being, a 
purpose. Everything. A snowflake, an ice crystal, a rainbow that dances 
like the laughter of a child. Everything...

By Bob G. Shaw
“O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” - Psalm 8