My nose hairs froze the other day.  Yes, I kid you not.  It is possible.  I had to rub my nose to get it unstuck.  My swimmer girls also have dealt with Crunchy frozen hair coming out of practice.  I wondered if it would break off if it got cold enough but they wouldn’t let me try it when I reached for the pony tail.

But the really cool (no pun intended) thing I saw was this fleecy feathery pattern of ice on the window.  It reminded me of something from chemistry class. There were these intricate crystals that were all linked together and my first thought was a rhyme about Jack Frost.  I marveled and took in the delicate beauty and gave the credit to the creator of the cold and the frost.  I wondered what caused those patterns on every window block to be different, because basically it was the same window surface.

“By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened.” ~ Job 37:10

Window frost, is also called fern frost or ice flowers ~ how cool! It happens when a glass pane is exposed to frigid air on the outside while moderately moist air is on the inside. The temperature of the airborne  water molecules can fall below 32°F without them actually freezing. But as soon as the quick cooled water vapor touches the cold glass, it turns directly into ice without becoming water first. Tiny scratches on the surface of the glass can collect enough molecules to form a crystal from which intricate patterns then grow. The surface of the glass influences the shape of crystals, any imperfections, scratches or dust can modify the way ice forms. If the indoor air is very humid, rather than moderately so, water will first condense in small droplets and then freeze into clear ice.

It is the imperfections in the glass that dictate the pattern of frost.  Let that sink in a bit.  The beauty of the pattern we see is a result of an imperfection.  How many of our imperfections could be shaped into beauty if we’d let the Creator take hold of it?

“He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes; He casts out His hail like morsels; Who can stand before His cold? He sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.” ~ Psalm 147:16-18

He who causes the waters to flow, the frost to scatter, and the snow to fall can make beauty from our imperfections.

 

POINT TO PONDER: Are there patterns in your life beautiful like that frost?  Are they something people marvel at and think God inspired and created?  What pattern would you like to change?  God can take all things and make them beautiful ~ even our junk.