THE FROZEN PLACES

Brrr…

It's cold outside!

We were out of town during the Thanksgiving holiday.  And upon our return last week, we had to stop at a few places before we actually arrived home.

(You know, the usual – market, mail, and Mexican food).  

Each time we were greeted with the words, "Did you get snow?"

Actually, I suppose we did.

Though there wasn't much evidence of it left!

Whatever frosty flakes fell while we were out of town were now mostly melted – with the exception of a few icy patches stubbornly refusing to thaw.

I'm thinking about those places.

Why don't they melt?

Sometimes they stick around for days, long after everything else has melted.


I'm Google-obssessed, an info nerd, curious, so I looked it up to see if there's a scientific explanation for this.  And yes, there is!

"An interesting thing about snow and ice is that they are very good at absorbing long-wave radiation…If atmospheric conditions are such that long-wave radiation can easily escape or leave an area, that area will experience radiational cooling even if the sun is shining and the temperatures are warming up.  We can see this in the snowmelt…Even though the air is warm enough to melt the snow, in [some areas] very little if any will often melt because that snow is cooling radiationally."


Hmmm.

I sorta get that??

But even if I don't understand all the scientific intricacies of snowmelt, I have noticed two things that all these patches have in common.

For one thing, they're always in the shade.

I see them in cold ruts by the side of the road.  Or under trees with heavy branches.  Or in forgotten corners lurking under our stairs or decking.

They are found in dark places, away from the light and warmth of the sun.

I've also noticed that these patches are found in areas where there's no greenery surrounding them.

Areas that are bereft of plants or shrubs.

They are found in rocky or stony places, places where nothing grows.

Cold, lonely, forgotten places.

Frozen places.


As I gazed out my window the other day, and pondered these places, I realized something...

Sometimes these places exist in our own hearts.

Dark, rocky, stony places.

Lonely and forgotten places.

Places where something has gone cold and dead.


The causes can be many…

Maybe it's the long-ago, or not-so-long-ago hurt of rejection or betrayal. When your heart was shattered by someone you trusted.

When you said to yourself, "I'll never let anyone get that close again."

And something froze.


Or maybe it's the crushing blow of failure.  A mistaken decision.  Or something you did and shouldn't have, or didn't do but should have.  When you were overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy.

When you said to yourself, "I'm a loser." 

And something froze.


Or maybe it's the gnawing ache of estrangement from someone you once loved.  When the seeds of bitterness took root deep inside, strangling and choking.

When you said to yourself, "I'll never forgive them."

And something froze.


Or maybe it's the death of a dream you once had.  Of something you'd do or be.  When something you wanted with your whole heart was smothered by the realities of life, and it never happened.  

When you said to yourself, "I give up.  I'll never try again."

And something froze.


Are you like me?

Do you open your heart, but only so far? 

Do you surrender your life to the Lord, but only so far?

Are you like me?

Stubbornly clutching deep and secret and hidden places?  Places where something cold and stony resides?

Places imprisoned in shady darkness, where nothing at all ever grows?

Frozen places where hope has died?


Oh friend, let's look deeply at ourselves, deeply within ourselves.

And let's not be afraid to see what's there.

God already knows.

He knows.

And He loves those deep and secret and hidden places.  

Places where something cold and stony resides.

Lonely and forgotten places.

Frozen places where hope has died.


For He loves to thaw them out with the Son, with the Light of the World, with the warmth of His Spirit.


In this season of Advent, I am thinking of another place, hidden from the eyes of the world.  A lonely, forgotten, stony place.  A place where the deep darkness of the world was invaded by the bright Light of the Son.

A place where the cold and icy power of evil and sin was overcome.


A secret place where Hope was born.

And frozen places began to melt…


Are you willing to meet Him there?

In the frozen places of my heart
Where my hidden pain doth hide,
Shine Your light, bring Your warmth
Let Your hope once more reside.

Melt the icy, stubborn parts
Where I have ceased to be,
Bring me back, restore my breath
Give me life, abundantly.

(Sharon Kirby, 12/6/15) 

C. S. Lewis, who described himself as a most reluctant convert, once described his conversion in these words:

"I felt as if I were a man of snow at long last beginning to melt.  The melting was starting in my back – drip-drip and presently trickle-trickle."
("Surprised by Joy")

It's interesting that Lewis chose this word picture of snow melting.  It's a good one, suggesting how the bitter coldness of one's heart can be changed and transformed into a vibrant heart for God.

Later, Lewis once again used the imagery of snow in his beloved classic, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."  When Narnia came under the rule of the wicked White Witch, she turned it into a place where it was "always winter but never Christmas."  When the snow of Narnia begins to melt, it's an apt metaphor for how the "winter in our hearts" can once again experience the springtime of hope when a Savior invades our world.

"Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."

("The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe")

"And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you.  I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart." (Ezekiel 36:26, NLT)

"'I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes and trusts in Me [as Savior – all those who anchor their hope in Me and rely on the truth of My message] will not continue to live in darkness.'" (John 12:46, AMP)

"'…I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" (John 8:12, NIV)

"In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:4-5, NIV)


"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; 
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone…
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder, 
and his name shall be called 
Wonderful Counselor, 
Mighty God, 
Everlasting Father, 
Prince of Peace.  
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, 
on the throne of David and over his kingdom, 
to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness 
from this time forth and forevermore." 

(Isaiah 9:2, 6-7, ESV)



Do you have a *frozen place* that Jesus needs to melt?



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