As I type this, I have just seen come across my email a notice that my work place will be closed today due to inclement weather. I
have also learned that my daughters’ school will be closed as well. What makes these types of days so much fun for kids, and adults too, is that our routines are broken up and the possibilities for fun and enjoyment seem endless.
We have all daydreamed while sitting at work about what we would be doing if we weren’t at work right then and we are not usually thinking about laundry or yard work. These snow days create a new reality for us, they allow us to think about our existence in a new way, they allow us to live out a day without the normal constraints that seem to hold such a tight grip on us. Sure, some of this thinking is false but for one day at least everything seems bright and relaxed and open to joy, all because of a simple change in our weekly pattern.
This is similar to what we allow to happen when we fast. We are not tortuously depriving ourselves to make us more holy or more austere. We are simply, intentionally creating an environment that is different enough to allow our perspective on God and his work in our life to become more visible and meaningful. By eliminating something such as food, or anything that is routine or pervasive in our lives, even for a short time, we are giving our existence just enough of a jolt that meaningful things such as our spiritual life, which usually gets pushed aside, can be dealt with and contemplated in a refreshing way.
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