Shoveling Snow

Yep! That's what it says. We had 4 inches or more of snow and then at least an inch of ice.
I had always heard about shoveling snow but today I found out that it was all I thought it would be and more.
As I shoveled I felt blisters forming on my hands, I felt my back begin to ache and a terrible thirst from all of that hard labor. These are things I have felt before while getting leaves off of our yard. I knew shoveling snow would be hard. What I didn't realize is how therapeutic it was. I spent an hour listening to snow fall from trees, wind blow through the pines and the scrape and swoosh of the shovel. I was almost in a trance. Silence is a totally amazing thing for me. I can't stand to be alone yet I almost crave silence now. I am bombarded all day with questions, comments and statements and sometimes silence it such a treat. I was able to clear my mind so much that I wasn't even daydreaming about how I could organize this closet or rearrange that room or paint that other room. I didn't think about how much laundry was piled high on my bedroom floor. I only thought for a moment about how I hoped that Michael didn't come out to volunteer to take over. For me, listening out for the baby was all the volunteering I needed him to do. I know that some people may have driven by and thought about how crazy it was for that poor woman to be shoveling that driveway but they don't see that that poor woman needed to shovel the driveway to have some peace.
Today, I think, I did my best. I did something that needed to be done and I used it to quiet my mind and find peace in myself. I used that chore to pray for friends and loved ones.
I just never know how God is going to help me and then there it is, a driveway full of snow. Who knew!