Snowflakes Are Unique

Have you ever wondered if each snowflake is truly unique?

I know if you live in Rochester the recent snows have been a little less than thrilling. I mean, the sun comes out a few days to tease us and the temps rise just enough to melt stuff away and make our back yards into swamps. Then the sun stays out a while, but it’s become bitterly cold outside and windy. And a little snow-blowy again. Tricksy little weather.

Well, my dad and I recently traveled to West Virginia to do some business for his vehicle. (And we got it all done in one day and headed back home. Can you say ‘whirlwind’? Praise the Lord we did it! Thank you to all who prayed!)

As we drove along, we couldn’t help but notice the piles of snow on either side of the Thruway. Some of them were still pretty huge. My dad made the comment “All that snow, and every snowflake is different.”

I wondered if this was actually true, because if you think about how much snow has fallen all over the world throughout the centuries, it’s kind of hard to believe that each one could actually be unique and different. So I looked it up because I really wanted to know, and this is what I found out: it’s true!

Each snowflake actually is different, even if they all started out the same when dropped from the original cloud. As snowflakes travel, they experience different temperatures, humidity, and vapor levels which shape them and change them on the journey. These elements create a shape that is truly unique.

And that made me think about us as people.

Humanity across the board is the same in a lot of ways. We’re all created in the image of God. We all have similar characteristics that make us recognizably human. But even if two of us start out at the exact same place in life, and go through the exact same things, we’re hit differently by certain aspects of those experiences, and that shapes us on our journey.

Not every person will deal with the same situation in the same way. We all have different tendencies that are part of who we are from birth. One person will face adversity and be driven to work harder to overcome it. Another will face the same circumstances and struggle beneath the weight. And yet another just accept it as a fact of life and not react strongly either way.

None of us go through the temperatures and humidity of life the same way and come out the other side exactly like anyone else. The beautiful thing about this, though, is that God knows exactly how He created us. He is with us on the journey from before we even leave the cloud, and all the time we float through this life.

So even if you’re the one who struggles under the weight of adversity, you don’t have to struggle alone. Jesus is with you. All the circumstances God allows into our lives are for our ultimate good, and His glory. He is shaping us through it all.

I was amazed at the images I found when I searched for ‘snowflakes’ on the internet. Their delicate beauty is evidence of our God’s creativity. They show His loving care for all of His creation- that He would design such intricate detail in something that will possibly melt before even hitting the ground…amazing.

How is God shaping you? How have the temperatures and humidity of this life made you unique? Take some time today to thank God for the beautifully unique way He created you and shaped you.

Psalm 139:14-17
(14) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
(15) My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
(16) Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
(17) How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

1 Peter 5:6-7, 10-11
(6) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
(7) Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
(10) But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
(11) To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.