White as Snow

We had our first official snow of the year, and my 9-year-old was beyond excited — a snow day, no school, and a chance to get outside and play in it. Some of us, on the other hand, were less than thrilled with the arrival of winter.

I have to admit, though, the trees in our backyard did look beautiful under their fresh, white blanket. Everything looked clean, bright, new.

But I knew what was underneath.

Trees stripped of their leaves — bare.

Leaves scattered across the ground — dry and crinkled.

Grass — tired and flattened.

As I stood there looking at the snow, I started thinking about sin. How easy it is to cover things up. To make life look shiny from the outside. To put on our “snow” — the smile, the good behavior, the church attendance, the busy schedule.

But underneath? Sometimes it’s just the same broken deadness we’d rather no one see.

Snow can only hide it.

It can’t change it.

When the Bible says we can be made “white as snow,” it isn’t describing a temporary covering like the snow in my yard — it’s describing complete cleansing:

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” — Isaiah 1:18

God isn’t interested in hiding our sin — He wants to remove it.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:9

“He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” — Psalm 103:12

This isn’t surface-level.

This is transformation.

A soul washed clean.

A heart made new.

A life restored from the inside out.

Snow disguises what’s underneath.

Jesus removes it.

A Monday Challenge

Take five quiet minutes today and ask God:

“Is there anything in me I’m trying to cover instead of surrender?”

Not to shame you — but to free you.

Because He doesn’t deal in cover-ups.

He deals in transformation.

A Closing Prayer

Jesus, thank You that Your forgiveness doesn’t just hide what’s broken — it heals it. Reveal the places I’ve tried to cover on my own, and give me the courage to hand them over to You. Make my heart clean… white as snow. Amen.