By: Daphne Harrington
Christiana was the smallest of all the snowflakes. It seemed she and
her family, along with many other snowflake families, had been
floating always through the long day as she tumbled delightfully about
with her friends. But their journey took them as well through
seemingly endless freezing cold and darkness. Sometimes the north wind
blew them along their way so hard she could scarcely breathe. At these
times, as much as the bracing wind would permit, Christiana huddled
close to her parents, Celeste and Chaucer, completely unaware that
they were as uncomfortable as she.

At other times they were assailed by a gust of warmer air up in the
atmosphere that threatened their very lives. Afraid, the little
crystalline beauty would bow her minuscule head and cry. Celeste and
Chaucer tried to shield and protect their little progeny as best they
could.

Sometimes however, it was all they could do to hold on themselves. The
beloved but naive little snowflake was oblivious to everything but
observances from her youthful perspective and her own unreliable
emotions and feelings. Life seemed to her a series of events: those
that made her feel good, the ones she relished with great glee, and
those that were so traumatic they drove her to despair. These ups and
downs were punctuated with exasperating periods of sheer boredom.

Between the frigid wind that blew them, forcing them along in their
descent to the earth, and their greatest foe, the warm counter-winds
that swished by occasionally and threatened to dissolve them, the
snowflake life was much more treacherous than observers might perceive
it to be.

On their flight to the earth, the snowflake highs were very high
indeed. It was almost like a symphony as they floated along together
when none of their enemies were nearby. The sound of snowflake
laughter and singing were delightful to the ear. But, as quickly as
they had begun, these delightful times became a memory, as worries and
trials became their portion once more.

Each time these difficult periods came around again, the music ceased
and tension, fear, and strife shoved aside the joy and began to rule.
Christiana and her peers lived only for the times of joy, pouting and
resisting those that kept them from their fun. At one particularly
dark and trying hour, Celeste and Chaucer, who had been on this flight
much longer and had learned to take things more in stride, hovered
near their lovely and delicate daughter. "How do you manage to remain
so calm when our enemies are near?" Christiana asked.

"My dear", said her father, "When we began this journey, before you
were born, the father of snowflakes, the one who formed us, spoke a
promise for us to hold close to our hearts along the way."

"Long ago," he said, "because the snowflake journey is fraught with
enemies, I sent my perfect snowflake to the earth. He made the same
journey that all snowflakes make, but because of who he is, he
defeated the foe of the snowflakes and took away his power. And, if
you will but trust in him and in me, and keep us at the center of your
hearts, and if you will remember that we are with you at all times, a
special wind you haven't known will keep you safe, guiding you,
teaching you, and giving you peace along your way. Then, no matter
what tactic your enemy may use to try to destroy you, when your
traveling days are done, you will make your landing in a new and
better world. I myself will be there to welcome you. At that point
your life here will be at an end, but you will have fulfilled your
purpose and you will have joy, for from the clouds I will lift you up
to myself once more as I did the perfect snowflake."