The Snowflake (17 page)

“Yes.”

Buck leaned forward and swept me into his arms.

“I love you, Buck,” I whispered as I tilted my head back to stare into his eyes.

My breath caught as he seemed to study every feature of my face, stopping at my lips. He leaned toward me, and when I thought he would kiss me, he stopped just short and said, “Take a breath, Ellen, before you pass out.”

I bit my bottom lip and smiled up into his eyes, those ice blue crystals that were warm now, that I would get to gaze into for the rest of my days. “I thought you were going to kiss me.”

He caressed my cheek with his thumb. “Just taking my time.”

His words sent a warm wave through my body. Of course. We had the rest of our lives together. Then he crushed his lips to mine with gentle demand.

Every icicle around my heart melted into a pool of ecstasy . . . and I floated.

I floated like the snowflake, a delicate, intricate, one-of-a-kind, God-crafted snowflake that never melts, that was made for eternity. Together we were strong and glittering and eternally glorious.

Rejoice! Rejoice, Emmanuel.
My heart sang the song.

I was
His
and
his
and
mine
. I was whole.

Floating . . . eternal . . . in an everlasting pool of love.

Dear Reader,

Have you ever considered the snowflake? I have. I have a fascination with them. They say snowflakes are one of a kind, like fingerprints. Can you imagine how many snowflakes are in a handful of snow? A yard full? A city’s worth? And that’s just in one snowfall. What about a winter’s worth of snowflakes across the entire world? What about every snowflake that has or will ever fall? Can you imagine the diversity in each intricate design? The perfectly symmetrical arms that appear like sparkling glass under a microscope? The bends and twists, the nubs and branches on a piece of floating, fluffy frozen water? Only God has that much imagination, that much creativity, that much timeless knowledge and wisdom. Only God could build a snowflake with each one having its own identity.

We are like the snowflake. Fantastic and unfathomable and fragile. Our lives are a moment in time, but that moment is all ours. No one like you was ever made or ever to be made. If God took the effort to make each snowflake with its own unique shape, how much more did He expend on you, His beloved, in His image?

We forget, I think, how valuable we are to Him. When the snowflake melts, what does it become? Streams and rivers, lakes and oceans. Life-giving water. God created one-of-a-kind water droplets for you to drink. I can’t fathom such love.

Dear beloved reader, do not sell yourself short. Do not think for a moment that you don’t mean everything to Him. Do not let man and Satan, sin and evil, rob you of your worth. After all, God gave His one and only Son for you.

Remember that the next time you look in the mirror and see only shortcomings and failures. Remember. It’s hard, I know. But I promise, I will try and remember it too.

If you would like to learn more about the science of snowflakes, here is a wonderful Web site: www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/class/class.htm.

Learn more about Jamie Carie’s books at www.jamiecarie.com.

Discussion Questions

1. Ellen’s brother, Jonah, suffered with mental illness triggered when their father walked out on them. Describe a situation when you or someone you know struggled with emotional or mental difficulties (i.e., depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, abandonment issues, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.)? What sort of treatment did you/they turn to?

2. What role should the body of Christ play in reaching out to people who struggle with mental illness and/or emotional trauma?

3. The characters on board the ice-locked steamship are forced to make a decision—sit out the winter on the ship or risk a harrowing trek across Alaska to reach Dawson City. Which group would you be in? What personality type are you? (Risk taker? Thrill seeker? Overly cautious? Conservative?)

4. When, if ever, have you had to make a big decision, and though you prayed, you didn’t receive a definitive answer from the Lord? What did you do? What do these Scripture verses mean to you in regards to making big decisions?

“Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer”
(Ps. 4:1 NIV).

“Hear my prayer, O LORD, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were”
(Ps. 39:12 NIV).

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path”
(Ps. 119:105 KJV).

5. Buck is the kind of man folklore is made from. What is it about the strong, confident, “leader of men” type that is so attractive? If married, what type of man did you choose and why? If single, which type of man are you attracted to and why do you think that is?

6. On the trail Sinclair is accused of stealing food. Describe a time when you were falsely accused of something or falsely accused someone else. Read and discuss Mark 15 when Jesus is accused and crucified.

7. What do you think of Kate? How would you react if you were offered help by a prostitute or someone of ill repute?

8. When Buck leaves Dawson, Ellen struggles with loneliness and longing for him. Everyone feels lonely at times. What triggers this for you? How do you cope?

9. The holiday season can be tough for some people. What are the best aspects of Christmas? The worst?

10. What does the Bible say about loneliness? Jesus endured much suffering during His crucifixion, but it was not until He could no longer feel His Father’s presence that He finally broke and called out in desperation,
“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”
—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34 NIV). Why do you think God designed us to need one another and His presence in our lives?

11. Describe a time when you didn’t feel God’s presence in your life. What led up to it, and how did you get it back?

12. The reader never finds out what happens when Lucky leaves to beg Kate to take him back. Do you like loose ends in a story, or would you rather the author neatly tie everything up before the end? Explain.

13. Buck is forced to make a decision between holding on to his deceased wife or embracing a new life with Ellen. What are your experiences with death, and how have you coped?

14. All of my books end “happily ever after.” What do you think “happily ever after” looks like on earth? In heaven?