Like a Snowflake... Snow!

How exciting for our community to receive more than just a dusting … or better yet.. the typical icing we usually have with Wake County wintery weather. This Sunday, Lynn Jarrard and I met (on ZOOM) with some of our excited children and listened as they spoke about making snow angels, having snowball fights, sledding down frosty hills, and the overall glee of a Raleigh area snowfall. As for our teachable moment, Lynn asked the children what made them “unique,” in which we heard answers like “a sister to twins,” “a book lover,” “a karate orange belt,” or “singing beautifully with Mr. Larry.” From there, I shared my screen, showing them microscopic images of single snowflakes… each feathery ice crystal, perfectly unique in its delicate six-fold symmetry. If you guess that announced to our children that a snowflake….. a distinctly formed frozen water vapor reminded of how each one of them was uniquely and wonderfully made… an idea that should be celebrated.

Thinking more about comparing our individuality to a snowflake, my mind drifted to my past experiences in past faith communities. I remember being in places and times where not every precious individual was not appreciated for their uniqueness… places and times where other “snowflakes” seemed more valued than others.

Being a part of a community where “all are welcome,” I have come to be ever mindful of the value of every individual. As Lynn and I looked at the children's computer screen, I was even more attuned to the uniqueness of each little person before us. I lamented times in my past when I may have not appreciated an individual … or overappreciated some more than others. Remember with me the snowfall of this winter, a multitude of tiny snowflakes, each falling in place to produce a vision of wonder. Let’s treasure each snowflake. Like Snowflakes, the human pattern is never cast twice. We are uncommonly and marvelously intricate in thought and action. Alice Childress

Tommy Cook, Minister with Children and Their Families