One little sin often doesn’t seem so bad, does it? Like one little snowflake, it can be hard to even perceive one white lie, one irritated word, one lustful glance, one unhealthy craving. It can seem too minor and too innocuous to be worthy of concern.

There are blessings that come with living in a part of the world that sees four distinct seasons. There are trials, too, like when the days are scorching or the nights are bitterly cold. But if I were to leave this part of the world, I know I would miss the seasonality of Southern Ontario with its extremely high highs and extremely low lows.

As I write, the hot and humid days of summer have given way to the cool and gray days of autumn. Outside my office window, I can see leaves that have turned brilliant red, yellow, and orange and begun to drift to the ground below. I know that we are not far now from the bitter chill of winter and the arrival of the first snow.

When we receive news of an impending winter storm, I sometimes like to prop a camera in my front window so I can capture a time-lapse. First it captures a single snowflake that gently flutters down and disappears the moment it touches the ground. But more soon follow and with their combined presence they begin to blanket the yard. Over time, it builds up into great banks so that the world is completely transformed and we are locked inside until the plows arrive to clear the streets.

I have sometimes pondered the power of a snowflake. That sounds strange, I’m sure, since a single snowflake is so tiny, so delicate, and so gentle that it can barely be perceived. We have to squint to see its detail, and it will melt in an instant if we so much as breathe upon it.

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