Are you growing under the snow?

Of course, you are …

One year, we had a brief “warm” spell that melted the few feet of snow that had been covering the ground since the beginning of December.

I took a walk around the yard and discovered something wonderful. Under that blanket of snow, there had been a lot going on. As I walked the yard, I could see the tips of the daffodils and hyacinths that were coming up in preparation for spring.

Even though there were still months of wintry weather ahead, those bulbs were safe, warm, and protected under the snow’s white blanket.

Sometimes, a cold wintery wind blows through our lives, but like the bulbs, we are always protected and able to continue our growth if we cover ourselves with the purity of love-based thoughts and gratitude for divine Love that always cares for us.

Instead of shivering against the cold spell, we can use these winter times to put down roots in the fertile soil found within the perception of and faith in the infinitely intelligent Principle of Love.

We can feel the warm embrace and loving care of the mother qualities of God as the father qualities of God expand and reach out and up into the sunlight of Love, which is always shining impartially and permanently for everyone.

There is another symbol here about layers. No matter how much snow piled on top of the plants, it did not transform them into snow; they remained daffodils and hyacinths.

Often, things that appear to be happening to us are not good. This could be the idea of being jobless or in debt, a health problem, or a relationship that is not going well. It could feel like we are being smothered in snow and frozen out of our lives.

However, we recognize that this is not the case. Although it's easy to say that these problems are not part of our true spiritual nature and that they cannot transform us away from the perfect expression and essence of ourselves, it is sometimes hard to understand or visualize how this Truth works in our lives.

Here’s an idea that has helped me understand this concept.

That winter, I had been working on learning how to use Photoshop to draw pictures. It differs from drawing on a piece of paper, where there is just one sheet of paper, and everything exists on that layer.

In Photoshop, you create a basic image and then add layers to it. The cool thing is that you can trash the layer if you don’t like it, and the image beneath stays as it always was.

This would be like drawing an image on a piece of paper and then drawing multiple transparencies on top of it.

Either way, the symbol is obvious. No matter what “layer” is being added to your life, whether it appears good or bad, it has never affected the image and likeness of God that is you.

Gratitude and acknowledgment of this Truth will shine like the sun to melt all that is unlike the pure expression of Love that you are, and you will shine forth, never touched by anything that is unlike the Divine and perfect Good.