Snow!

(Anziano Wilkinson)

This week we got to venture up into the mountains of Trento with a friend of ours here in Verona and enjoy the fresh mountain air, snow, and most of all, the sheer silence! You never know how much you're missing something like a little bit of quiet when you're surrounded by loud and cramped Italian cities. It was so amazing to just listen to the birds sing and take a second to reflect among the trees and fresh air. It was a great reminder of the sheer beauty of this earth and the many amazing things that inhabit it! Venturing out into nature and taking a second to soak it all in is a great way to bring everything in this life better into perspective.

As I mentioned, we got to see snow! I had figured that I wasn't going to get to see any this year, which made me sad because I love the snow, but to my surprise, as we drove up higher and higher into the mountains, we began to see little deposits here and there that hadn't quite gotten around to melting yet. Then, as we climbed higher, it kept getting more and more prevalent. At places there was easily three feet of snow built up from a snow fall that apparently had happened a few days ago. We were very excited about this and absolutely had to take the occasion to have a snowball fight and built a snowman! Have a snowball fight on top of a mountain in Italy: Check!

This week as I was reading in 2 Corinthians chapter six, I was struck by verses 14 through 18. They say, "what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?... And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." I really like the logic of this verse, for if we profess ourselves to be followers of God and seekers of "anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy", then we can't harbor a "communion... with darkness". We must be on one side or the other; darkness and light cannot exist together, for one casts out the other. We should be separate from the worldly things of this life, after all, the reward is more than worth it: "touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters." I invite each of you to look for ways in your lives where you can replace a little darkness with a little more light! Stay away from "the unclean thing[s]" and seek for those things that naturally make us happy, like family time and service, and shed some light in the lives of those around you while you're at it!

Have a great week and remember to shed some more light while you're at it!

-Anziano Jake Wilkinson