Whiter Than Snow

"...Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7

As daylight begins to creep over the earth you get a hint that something is different than the night before. A soft glow. A brightness that is explained as we see a blanket of freshly fallen snow. Gone is the dirty ground and in its place is a clean expanse of white. We feast on the beauty of this sparkling, glistening scene. The white seems to appear brighter against the stark outline of the dark trees. The cleanliness grips us and we revel in its beauty. The sun slowly begins to climb up and across the sky, warm winds begin to blow, and the snowplow goes by leaving dirty clumps of snow along the road. Soon bare patches of dirty earth can be seen. Where the dog has romped, mud is prevalant. Sticks and leaves are poking through the once pristine whiteness. Melting, dirty snow has replaced the scene of the early morn. Where has the whiteness, the cleanliness gone? We had given no thought to that one speck of dirt that is used to form each snowflake when our eyes first glimpsed that scene of white. Now with startling awareness we realize that those small specks of dirt in each of the snowflakes are still with us, but the glistening, sparkling beauty is gone.
We wake to a new day. That feeling that this is going to be a wonderful day surrounds us. We feel we can handle the day before us with all its bumps and curves. We feel a soft glow of invincibility surrounding us. As we dress for the day, the feeling persists. Soon we are enveloped into the busyness of the day. We try to keep our cool as the dog wets on the rug. An empty cereal bowl left on the table, milk spilled and not cleaned up tests our patience. Muddy tracks across the clean kitchen floor and quarreling kids soon leave a dirty blot upon our once clean day. Our reaction is less than our expectations for that day. We feel like all that we have tried to do has been for nought. Like "...our righteousness is as dirty snow.." to paraphrase. The day surrounds us now with feelings of failure and dismay.
We look at these two pictures and see a similarity. They leave us not with that sparkling vista of white but with dirty, melting snow. We take heart when we read in Psalm 51:7 that God can wash us whiter than snow. At first glance, we wonder over the whiter than snow part, for what can be whiter than new fallen snow. Then we see in our mind's eye that picture of melting, dirty snow. Our hearts are gladdened with the thought that with God's cleansing, He will remove even that speck of dirt that surrounds each snowflake of our lives. We can be washed clean. A clean that will stick with us through the day of muddy tracks and quarrelling kids. We must trust God for that cleanliness. We can't make it on our own. When a new day dawns we must have our thoughts and hearts anchored in trust to the One who cleanses whiter than snow. When the day has ended we can still see our lives as "whiter than snow" because it has been God that has brought us through the day.