Snow has finally come. The bite of the empty cold has finally found a friend with the falling snowflakes. Although I often see only the ugliness of winter, I see some pleasant in this winter wonderland. The brown lifeless vegetation seems somehow vindicated by the uniform blanket of white covering it. As the snow begins to pile, I begin to see more and more of my winged Canadian friends from the north. The Canada geese come in large groups, loudly announcing their arrival with honks and groans, as if they are proud of the chorus of tune they sing, no matter how off pitch it seems to my ears.

These large fowl congregate in large groups slowing shifting one by one, from one field to another and over to the pond in front of my apartment. As they move across the road, they totally disregard the traffic, creating a delay as people sit helplessly behind their wheels; the occasional American impatiently honks his horn in hopes to speed up the process. I sit in warmth behind the pane of glass, with a cozy cup of hot chocolate in my hands, while watching my immigrant friends approach the semi frozen pond.

There seems to be a leader among the flock as one goose inches his webbed toes off of the solid ground and onto the paper-thin layer of ice. Stepping onto the ice, brother goose levitates magically for a moment on the surface of the water, but just as quickly as he bravely stepped out onto the unknown, his body broke through the ice clumsily splashing those admiring his plunge.

I find it comforting to see awkwardness among the natural world. As I often fumble around and makes a fool of myself in many ways, it is refreshing to see even a graceful creature as a goose make others laugh at his clumsiness from time to time.

God of the clumsy and graceful, use me.
Lord of all that lives both big and small,

redeem me. Amen.