It had started to snow before I went to bed. I expected to wake up to a thick blanket across my driveway, and I wasn’t disappointed. I didn’t intend to shovel before heading to work. I was pretty sure I could get through it with my vehicle. And if not, I could get a ride to work or strap up my boots and walk.

I made it to work without a problem, and I took off with enough daylight left to shovel my driveway, since it had been snowing throughout the day and we expected even more overnight again.

Reminder #1: Sometimes I’m willing to push through something instead of taking the time to clear the path. Sometimes it works out, but other times, it just causes me to get stuck and spend more time and effort than I would have if I had prepared better.

It was a heavy, wet snow, which can be challenging to shovel yet also easy because it seems to easily fall into chunk on the shovel and stay put as it is moved aside. Then it stays where it’s stacked instead of blowing back into the cleared space.

As I began shoveling, I remembered the leaves I hadn’t cleaned up from the last big gusts of fall. I had mulched all that I could in November, but many didn’t fall until a few weeks later, when I didn’t have a warm enough day when I didn’t have another commitments or enough daylight to take care of them. I figured they’d wait until spring.

The underlayer of leaves made shoveling snow a bit more challenging because of the added weight but a bit less challenging because of the separation they created between the snow and my driveway.

Reminder #2: Sometimes what I’m unable to take care of ends up with a purpose or benefit later on. Then again, sometimes it just adds to the weight of life.

As I shoveled, I considered how thankful I was to be able to scoop snow. In fact, as I have through the years, I viewed it as an extra dose of exercise. I was grateful I was able to physically take care of it. I also reflected on the many memories of shoveling snow. I usually offered to take care of it even when I was married, because, again, I saw it as welcomed exercise, and it wasn’t the best activity for my ex’s back issues. The girls would sometimes come out and “help.” And once we got the dog I still have, she would follow along with every scoop.

Reminder #3: I can choose gratefulness and good memories no matter what the situation.

I woke up the next morning with more snow, and I appreciated the beauty. I woke up the next morning with sore shoulders, and I appreciated the reminder of what I was still able to do.

Let what you do today remind you of whatever it is God wants to remind you.