Advent...Tracks in the Snow

It was the coldest morning of the winter...two degrees... and the snow had a frozen crust that changed the bright sunlight into a field of diamonds. After breaking the ice with a hatchet so the cows could drink, I stood at the cistern and listened to the silence that surrounded me. Deer tracks crisscrossed the white hill behind me, some coming to the cistern and others to the hay manger. Their small hooves left deep holes in the snow.
At the chicken barn Old Man Possum left his distinctive track marks as he came to clean up the left over cat food. There were a few cat paw prints but not many. Cats have enough sense to stay inside the barn during bad weather. And with mama delivering Meals on Wheels twice a day, they have no need to hunt.
The ducks were piled on top of each other under the willow tree glazed in ice and snow. With their heads tucked under their wings for warmth, they made a living sculpture. Duck tracks on the snowy iced over pond led back and forth as they walked on the water they usually swim in.
These tracks are a part of life every day at the farm but without the snow, I do not see them. They blend into the background of dirt and grass. Grey fox, birds, coyote, rabbits, snakes, bears young and old...all pass by silently (most of the time) and leave only their tracks behind marking their passage.
Advent is the soul snow before Christmas. I can see where I am going in the darkness before the Great Light by following the tracks in the snow. Years of lighting the candles on Advent wreaths, Advent worship, dearly loved music, Advent devotional books from Lake Shore Baptist... all have left tracks in the snow for me to follow. I sit in the winter still morning darkness remembering where I come from and where I am going. Thanks be to God for times of preparation and remembrance, Advent tracks in the snow.