god

The Snow Globe

/ Linda DeLay Wallace / Leave a comment

Each January a small group of friends and I attend what we call the Ozarks Write and Create Retreat. I love this time because it allows me to focus on writing, meditating, and praying, without the interruptions I would have at home. I am easily distracted and being the only extrovert in the group is sometimes challenging. Where I get my energy from being around people, the introverts love time to just withdraw and write or create. (Just a side note–our super creative one teaches quilting classes, and she frequently makes samples for her classes. Her work is amazing! She also makes her own greeting cards, and they are so much better than what can be bought in the store.)

We usually book our retreat for January because schedules are less hectic. It doesn’t hurt that prices are cheaper than peak season. Invariably, we get snow fall each year and this year was no exception.

As I was doing my morning Bible reading, I gazed out the window to see sunshine, and the snow softly blowing shimmered like shiny crystals in the sky.  I love the word scintillating, and indeed, what I was watching was just that. In the background above the lake a fog was softly rising into the mountains. The whole scene felt like we were wrapped in a snow globe. I just sat and watched, taking in the scene and thinking how wonderful God is to give us moments like this.

So many times, I am busy rushing through my day without taking the time to appreciate the lovely creation that God has put right in front of me. This morning reminded me to slow down and appreciate nature, to soak in the beauty, and to worship the Creator that enables nature to soothe my soul.

Job knew this well. In Job 12:7-10, he says:

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
   or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.

How long has it been since you have really looked at what God has created? How long has it been since you have stayed quiet and soaked in the beauty of nature that surrounds us?

If you are like me, it doesn’t happen as often as it should. While we often consider the snow an inconvenience, maybe it is time to take a closer look. Take five minutes today to watch out the window or put on your heavy coats, hats, and gloves, to go outside. But wherever you are, observe and see the beautiful handiwork of God. I would love to hear your thoughts on seeing the hand of God in nature.

Photo by Jeffrey W on Unsplash



©Linda DeLay Wallace 2026

All Fall Down

/ Linda DeLay Wallace / Leave a comment

While I do not see children playing this game now, when I was a child we played Ring Around the Rosie. The poem went like this: “Ring around the rosies; Pockets full of posies; Ashes, ashes, all fall down!”

When we got to the end, we would all fall down on the ground and then get up laughing. While some attribute this to a macabre ritual from the Bubonic plague days, in actuality there is evidence that it dates back to more playful origins in Europe. Needless to say, when we recited this as children we were not thinking about any plagues!

I have taken a lot of falls in my life–both figuratively and literally. There have been sprained ankles, broken elbows, paint chips embedded in my forehead when I fell and hit the corner of a wall, and more. But the falls that you cannot see are probably the ones that have left the most marks on me. The failure to meet someone’s expectations, the breaking of a promise, the crashing of a ministry I loved, and more, litter my life. Some of the falls were a result of my own carelessness and others were things out of my control.

There is a magnet I keep on my refrigerator. It reads: “You fall, you rise, you make mistakes, you live, you learn. You’re human, not perfect. You’ve been hurt, but not destroyed. Think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, and to pursue the things you love. Sometimes there is sadness in our journey, but there is also much joy. We must keep putting one foot in front of the other even when we hurt, for we never know what blessings are waiting just around the bend.” –Anonymous

When we fall we have choices of how we respond. Do we learn valuable lessons? Do we dust ourselves off and move on? Do we allow someone to help and lift us up? Or, do we stay on the ground and wallow endlessly in the pain? Do we blame everyone else for our fall, sometimes neglecting to see our role in it?

We all fall. After all, we live in a fallen world–one that was perfect until Satan entered the picture. But we do not need to wallow in the fall. God has given us everything we need to rise up and overcome the hurts, the disappointments, and the agony of falling.

Micah 7:8 says, “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” In Psalm 37:24 we are reminded that God holds our hands even though we fall. “Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.”

We all fall. But the Lord will help lift us up so that we can continue on our journey and grow closer to him.

More verses to reassure us that God has us when we falter and fall. Psalm. 37:4; 2 Corininthians 4:8-9; Proverbs 24:16; Isaiah 43:2