Parables in the Snow

It sure is a winter wonderland outside lately. It is beautiful. As I was driving to work on Monday, with the freshly laid snow, I couldn't help but notice the Salt Lake Temple all dressed in white. When I think of the temple, I think of purity. When I think of white, I once again think of purity  "...though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)

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The temple had never seemed to glow as much as it did right then. Purity covered in purity, what a beautiful concept. Seasons sure have their time and purpose in this beautiful world. God created the nature, the animals, the moon and stars, and even the seasons with their perfect timing just for us. I always said I was going to move far away from the snow when I got the chance. I get cold way too easily, driving in the snow is a disaster, and I've never been a huge fan of the shoveling and maintenance the snow entails.

I started pondering on winter and how it always takes place at the end/beginning of the year, never in the middle. Snow comes to clean and purify our world, and isn't that what we need to have happen in our hearts? The sacrament happens at the end/beginning of the week; the gift where we have the opportunity to change our hearts, renew our covenants, and be purified from every whit. The sacrament bread we use is usually white, which also ties in perfectly to purity. 

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The snow has a greater purpose than I ever realized, it is there to remind us of new beginnings and renewed hope. It is there to remind us of repentance and the atonement of Christ. It is there to remind us that though we have sins as scarlet, through Christ and because He was born, they can become as white as snow.

If you've ever made mistakes you thought you would never recover from, if you have ever hardened your heart to the point it felt there was no return, if you have ever felt that red stain was never, ever going away, know that that is Satan trying to stop you from progressing and becoming who Heavenly Father longs for you to be. Repentance is real. Hope is beautiful. Every single mistake you have ever made can be washed away and purified and it doesn't have to hold you back ever again. Look at the snow, look how pure and gorgeous it makes the world look, let that be a resemblance and an anchor for you to know that hope is real and repentance has all the power to wash your sins away.

God planned His seasons perfectly, are we missing the beauty and His love when we are always wishing for the things we don't have?