The thing about North Carolina snow is that it is rarely ever just snow. It's always mixed with something. My driveway would be evidence. I should have taken a picture.

The weathermen called for snow and sleet. We got both. In fact, I got 5 inches of snow but laid upon that was sleet - and then more snow. I went to shovel the driveway, as if I was really going somewhere - ha! Not! But I used the shoveling as an opportunity for exercise. It didn't take long to work up a sweat and a rhythm. Me and my handy shovel were moving snow and breaking up ice. Ice broke apart in pieces that I could pick up and hold - their jagged edges covered my chest. These were big chunks of ice - about 16 X 12 inches across and 3 inches thick. Made me feel really good to be able to break up the chunks like that. But I have to give most of the credit to my handy shovel.

The workout felt good - the reward felt even better. A clean driveway. I got tired of seeing all that snow from my window. I have to imagine that you feel that way too when you have finished a task that you exerted a lot of energy on. We sit back and applaud ourselves for a job well done. We can see where we started and where we ended. The progress makes us smile.

Our Christian journey should be much the same. We will all have to deal with something. And in most cases, that something will be mixed with something else. That's just the way it is. And as we make progress in clearing away the sin from our lives, we should be able to pull some chunks of that old life up and chuck it far away from us. We allow the SON to penetrate the hole we've left when the sin was plucked away and our lives become better. Before long, we can look back and recall each shovel, each scrape and each victory. It's a workout, but it's worth it.