let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

at this very moment, i am sitting on my couch and looking out at the first snow flurries of this Chicago winter. they look so light and playful as they swirl and flutter to the ground. i have no idea how i have lived over 30 years now and have no recollection of ever being out in falling snow before today. i feel like a little kid again. it's like i have this sense of awe and wonder that i am almost too embarrassed to admit. this isn't supposed to be that big of a deal. i mean, i'm an adult, right? it seems so childish to be amazed by something so simple, and by Chicago standards, so common.

i think that's why i like Buddy the Elf. seriously, a great Christmas movie with a main character that unabashedly demonstrates the joy and excitement of seeing and experiencing something for the very first time. what has become boring and mundane to the rest of the world is packed with possibilities for those with fresh eyes. i think it's why i like Jesus, too. once, Jesus told the people following Him that they had to become like children, or they would never enter the kingdom of heaven.

maybe there is a part of this statement that makes me hope that Jesus is giving me a big thumbs up to be childish, in that being amazed by the simple and common things is okay. like, maybe being excited and joyful about snow flurries is alright. maybe, somehow, by seeing and celebrating the simpler things i am drawing closer to what Jesus calls this "kingdom of heaven."

or maybe it is just snowing.