It's snowing this morning—large flakes floating down lazily from the sky. I sat and watched for awhile, mesmerized by the peacefulness of the morning and the beauty of the white snow against the deep green pines in the background.
I started thinking about God and thanking Him for His magnificent creation. I remembered that each teeny, tiny snowflake is unique—one of a kind! So much beauty in something so small and seemingly insignificant. I searched for some photos and marveled at the uniqueness seen under a microscope. [Eventually I chose a few for this page.]
Our Creator God cares about the details. He could have made everything the same—bland and mater-of-fact. But He didn't! He gave us His elements of design—a variety of lines and shapes, stunning colors, and inviting textures. God also gave us His principles of design—things like contrast, repetition, balance, movement, rhythm, pattern, emphasis, variety, and unity. The result is a magnificent and interesting creation, full of beauty and wonderful surprises everywhere we look. What a delight to the eye!
My mind wandered back to the late 90's when my friend Julie and I began developing and teaching a class called Discover. We were passionate about helping people realize that God uniquely designed them—on purpose—with a unique combination of spiritual gifts, abilities, passions, personalities, and specific life experiences. One of the analogies I shared with people in those early days was that of the snowflake.
The snowflake is such a tiny part of God's grand creation—it seems pretty insignificant. After all, one tiny snowflake falling onto an asphalt driveway can melt away in an instant. By itself it's easy to overlook. But gathered together snowflakes unite to cover the browns and grays of winter with a sparkling white. And when those tiny snowflakes start clumping together—look out! Together they are capable of bringing traffic to a stand-still, or caving in a roof!
Like a snowflake, we can feel very small and insignificant. Looking at the world filled with so many people, we can sometimes feel a bit lost in the crowd. And like the snowflake, life seems to go far too fast and then we are gone from this earth. Without God in the picture we could wonder about the purpose of it all! But since He uniquely designed each tiny snowflake that's here today and gone tomorrow—How much more has He beautifully designed each one of us to serve His purpose!
And just like the snowflake is capable of great things when united with others, so are we. While God created us as individuals, He has called us to come together relationally. How much more effective we are when we work together in unity! Our gifts and strengths complement each other, and together we are capable of so much more than we could ever do on our own.
So I'm grateful today for the reminder that I'm "one of a kind!" I'm grateful, too, that I'm also meant for community. When I see the little flakes floating down, I will remind myself to "clump together with others— to gather in community. I'll remind myself that together we can accomplish far more than I could ever do on my own.
Learn more about Community.