Do you remember the first time you experienced snow? If you were a baby or toddler, chances are you probably don’t remember it at all. For most of us, the moment has been captured in one old photo of us having a horrible time, bawling and red-faced in a puffy snowsuit. It’s likely that others in the photo – parents and siblings – are wearing a smile, despite the little one’s misery.

There’s a first time for everything and for many, our first time in the snow is a strange experience. Babies cry the first time they go out in the snow because they have no concept of it – who could blame them for having a bad time? It’s so cold and wet! They have yet to grasp the natural beauty of a winter snowfall, or to delight in the communal joy that develops as friends and neighbors gather to sled, walk dogs, and shovel driveways. Babies can’t enjoy the goodness of snow because it looks so different from the other good things they have identified and experienced in life.

Do we ever respond this way to the good things in our lives? We ask God to bless our lives with good things, yet we become blind to good things that look different than what we had imagined. When we receive these unusual blessings, we are perplexed, frustrated or angry. We have such a limited perspective of blessings that lie outside of our imaginations that we often miss them.

Today, I discovered an unexpected blessing in the snowfall that began in our area last night. As I shuffled through the deep drifts of fresh snow on a forest trail, I listened to birds rustling in the trees. A strong, icy wind knocked the snow off tree branches, throwing swirls of frosty glitter into the morning air. I breathed in the cold air, relishing the inviting scent of wood burning fireplaces blazing in nearby homes. My soul took refuge in the stillness and silence of the falling flakes, muffling the noise of the world in a pristine blanket.

My morning walk in the snow was an unexpected blessing because I wasn’t very happy about it just a few days ago. I had been planning for weeks to drive to Portland this weekend to spend quality time with friends. In such a difficult year, I have been hungry for community and eager to get away from home. Historically, the Seattle area gets about one snowfall a year, so naturally this year it would arrive the weekend I had a trip planned. Fantastic.

After coming to terms with the fact that I would have to cancel the trip, I was quite upset. I love making plans, yet the past year has been a saga of endless canceled plans, postponed gatherings and dreams left unfulfilled. I was hopeful that we were turning the corner and I could make one small plan, one night away, nothing too grand. Yet even those plans had fallen through.

There is nothing wrong with making plans, but sometimes we cling to them too tightly. Our plans become our idols, something we would make sacrifices for and would do anything to achieve. When my plans are forced to change or have to be canceled, I am filled with anxiety and frustration. I can’t prepare for the future if I don’t have a plan.

This is where I return to God’s blessings looking different than we may have anticipated: sometimes it takes a canceled plan for God to work in our lives. Through circumstances, he creates space to help us see the new things he is doing, to show us the specific person He wants us to speak with or the place He wants us to go.

God’s blessings can look different than how we imagined because He doesn’t always give us what we want, but He always gives us what we need. Sometimes the things we want are the same things that God gives to us, we recognize these things as answered prayers and return the blessing to God as praise. But how do we respond when the blessings we get look different than what we imagined?

For me, I am in a very busy season at work and my schedule is packed. I recently moved, making my commute twice as long as it used to be (working on site, safely, is truly worth the sacrifice!). My days are filled with many good things – but often I find them getting overfull and I get exhausted. By changing circumstances and canceling my plans, God created a space for me to rest and experience His peace this weekend.

On my walk, this Scripture came to mind, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isa. 26:3). A mind that is focused on the Lord has access to perfect peace, which is different from the peace offered to us by the world. We can look to other places, people or inside ourselves for peace, but these sources often come up hollow. The peace of God goes beyond our world, beyond what we find inside ourselves.

Experiencing God’s peace takes a shift in our perspective, which we can access by simply asking God for help. When we ask, He leads us to His peace in the Bible, prayer, nature, and many other places. Along with God’s help, we experience His peace in community with others. I experienced community today on my walk when I passed a woman who smiled and said, “Isn’t this just awesome?” I overheard a father speaking to his young child, imploring him to, “Look at this beautiful snow!” Their joy enabled me to shift my perspective and view my circumstances differently, fully embracing the beautiful blessing of snow.

As I continued walking, allowing myself to be enveloped in heavy silence, I felt drawn into the gracious peace and rest of God. If my plans remained intact, if my trip had not been canceled, I wouldn’t have slowed down enough to experience God’s peace. The trip would have been a wonderful blessing, but it’s one that I designed and planned. By showing me his sovereignty, God opened a space that led me into the glory of grace.

I still love making plans and I probably always will – it’s part of who God created me to be. As I continue to learn from God, I hope that I become more open to embracing changes in my plans and circumstances. God has new blessings waiting ahead, ones that may look completely different from anything I had ever imagined.