Lyrics for the Lord by Cheri Henderson

THE BEGINNING:

THE TREASURES OF THE SNOW

The day fit the project. There was a biting crispness to the air and a silvery grayness to the sky that had already stirred the hearts of the students toward hopeful thoughts of snow. With little scissors awkwardly grasped, chubby fingers maneuvered the folded white pieces of paper, carefully snipping out tiny triangles, circles, and squares. Mrs. Green, the first-grade teacher, watched with amusement as her students approached the task with glee. With the last ‘snip’, Mrs. Green announced “Now unfold the paper”, and with gasps of delight, each child beheld the beauty of their own unique creation.  She then asked each child to write anything they wished upon his or her newly created snowflake. With pencil in hand, I wrote “Snowflake dancing in the air, don’t go away. I like you there.”

At six years old, I knew nothing of the scientific makeup or uniqueness of a snowflake, nor had I studied the nature of its composition or the factors affecting its formation. No one had ever told me there were “no two snowflakes alike”. At that young age, I only knew the snowflake was a beautiful thing and it brought me joy. My parents, on the other hand, were amazed that their six-year-old daughter could write anything, let alone a poem. And so it became a “first-grade treasure” that they saved and returned to me many years later.

Recently, I spent a lazy Saturday afternoon sorting through some of my childhood mementos and came across the snowflake poem (albeit a little less white than I remembered it to be). As I re-read the poem written all those years ago, I began thinking about it in light of the poems I’ve written for the Lord since I was saved in 1983. Was this a precursor to what was to come? Was there something more to the simple little verses than what appeared at first glance?

It was time to do some research.

“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” (Job 38:22)

According to data provided through scientific study and weather analysis, it is estimated that each year there are approximately 1 septillion (or a trillion trillion) snow crystals that drop from the sky across the world. More amazing than that is the fact that there are no two snowflakes alike.

How like the Creator to create something so exquisite. So unique. So like us. (Just like the snowflake, no two human fingerprints are alike. The ridges on the fingers, palms and soles of the feet have three characteristics which appear in combinations that are never repeated on the hands or feet of any two persons. These markings form on a person’s hands and feet before they are born and do not change for as long as the person lives. In general, any area of “friction” skin that you can cover with a dime on your fingers, palms, or soles of your feet will contain sufficient individual characteristics in a unique 3-unit relationship to enable positive identification to the absolute exclusion of any other person on earth.)  “ I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . .”  (Psalm 139:14).

So like Him. The uniqueness of every snowflake speaks of the uniqueness of our God and His “one and only Son” (John 3:16, NIV). “God alone is God; there is no other.” (Deuteronomy 6:4; Job 23:13). And “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). God is absolutely and truly unique. There is nothing or no one else to whom He can be compared. “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6).

While there are no two snowflakes alike, they do have one thing in common. All snowflakes are hexagonal, which means they have six sides (sometimes referred to as “arms” or “wings”).

How appropriate.

“Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.”  (Isaiah 6:2). “Each of the four living creatures had six wings and . . . day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:7-9).

According to scientists, in order for a raindrop or a snowflake to be created, a tiny speck of dust must be drawn up into the clouds. It is there that water vapor attaches itself to the dust particle and the process begins. High above the earth, the conditions in the clouds actually cause a snowflake to form around the nucleus of a dust particle. Dust cannot be transformed into snow by remaining earthbound, because it is the atmosphere of the clouds that causes the transformation to take place.

Think for a moment about the process just described. God said to Adam “for dust thou art” (Genesis 3:19). Just as the dust of the earth and the atmosphere of heaven must come together for a snowflake to be born, so to a sinner cannot be transformed into a saint if he remains earthbound. The dust of the earth – man, and the atmosphere of heaven – Jesus Christ, must come together for a saint to be born. “Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3).

“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18). After the snowflake is formed and floats with such beauty through the air, we see the beauty, the glory, and the purity of the snowflake. The dust is not visible. All that is evident is the beauty and the glory that has formed around the tiny particle of dust. So too, we are “transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

And so, I now know why the sight of falling snow brings me such pleasure. It is another uniquely beautiful creation . . . created by a uniquely beautiful Creator to remind us of Him . . . and who we are in Him.

Much too young to realize

God’s hand was on my life.

Forty-four years later, I now look back

and see with great surprise

that at six years old He spoke through me,

knowing some day I would see

that my simple, childlike snowflake poem

was actually a prophecy

about the Creator of the snowflake,

and who He is to me . . .

the first verses of a ministry

designed to bring Him glory.

Snowflake dancing in the air,

Don’t go away.

I like you there

You remind me of my Father,

so exquisite, so beautiful, so fair . . .

there is no other

anywhere           

who ever can compare.

–Cheri Henderson, hendersonct@aol.com