Monday we experienced the first hard freeze of the season. The temperatures were wintery and some of the plants suffered as a result. Later in the week the temperatures were unseasonably warm. Still the hard freeze was a reminder that winter is not far off. It reminded me of how much I look forward to the first snow. There is something magical about the blanket of snow covering the bare earth. If there is ice hanging from branches, the light shining through the trees creates such prismatic glory. Sun off the snowy hills makes a new landscape. For a few moments everything seems shiny with possibilities. I know that some of that beauty will become slushy traps to pour over the top of my shoes when I step off a curb. By February my delight at the first snow will be lost in my grumbling about the cold, raw wet. But for the moment the first snow is a beautiful wonderland. What a delight in is to live in a part of the country where we experience the change of seasons. I don’t think I would enjoy living where there was only one season or even just two. Just when I am getting bored with one season the new one is on the horizon. I enjoy the change. It reminds me that change is not always scary or difficult. Sometimes the changes of life are exciting and refreshing. After all we worship a God who says, “Behold, I make all things new.” No one can anticipate all the changes that will come in the next several years. Our past tells us that we will like some of the changes and not appreciate some of the other changes. In the midst of any anxiety we might have about change, we hear the strong voice of Jesus to us disciples, “Don’t be afraid,” and “I am with you always.”