Let it Snow? by Sr. Donna Lord, GNSH

Written on: January 31, 2022

A number of Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart grew up in Buffalo, New York. It is a lovely old city with many features, one of them being nearness to Niagara Falls.

Another is the amount of snowfall each winter! 

A prime example is this very winter. Mother Nature has not sent  a great dump of snow at one time, but has sent a few inches a day so that plowing and shoveling have not been too arduous, and folks have not missed many days of school or work. The new blanket of snow each day has kept the accumulation fresh and clean, so that we look out our windows and truly see a “winter wonderland.” So far, about 2 feet of snow has fallen on the area!

Growing up in Buffalo, students could hope and pray for a major winter blessing — the snow holiday.

That would be a day when so much snow had fallen that some businesses closed, buses were not on time, and many schools realized that it would be difficult or impossible for the teachers and students to travel safely. Therefore, school was declared closed. Of course, the kids would then bundle up and go out to play:  building forts, making a supply of snowballs, and pelting each other until they ran out of snowballs or started to cry for mercy. Among the devilish tricks were creeping up behind someone and putting snow down the back of their neck, or “washing” someone’s face in snow which involved sneaking up behind a person with a handful of snow and plunging it into the face of the un-suspecting victim.

Even now as a mature (otherwise known as old) adult, I feel a burst of pleasure to see the snow start to fall and begin to cover the ground. It feels like a gift from God.

Unlike Buffalo, Philadelphia hasn’t had much snow to speak of– despite severe weather warnings from the meteorologists!

Isn’t it fun to remember the days when snow was a blessing, not a problem? There is something magical and spiritual about the hush that comes over the world outside our window as snow starts to fall, when we are tucked safe and warm inside.

The four seasons are a gift from God– don’t let climate change take them away.

This entry was posted in From our Sisters and tagged: blanket of snow, Buffalo NY, clean, four seasons, fresh, gift from God, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, hush, magical, meteorologists, Mother Nature, Niagara Falls, old city, pelting, Philadelphia, pleasure, plowing, shoveling, snow, snow forts, snow holiday, snowballs, spiritual, winter blessing, winter wonderland