WHITER THAN SNOW

December 8, 2025

Jason Bonnicksen

WHITER THAN SNOW

365 DAYS OF THANKSLIVING — DAY 8

“Matt, you’re the littlest. You sit up front and hold on tight. Jason, you’re right behind Matt; make sure you keep Matty in with your feet. And little brother, listen up! Don’t forget to hold on tight! And Jas, one more thing; Loren will be right behind you, making sure you’re safe!”

That was my big brother, the anchor of our crew. And as for Bruce, he made sure he gave us good push, jumped on the back, then hit the brakes just before we hit the tracks. That was the goal, after all; to go so fast that we’d make it all the way to the tracks — the railroad tracks that is.

Its location was supposed to be a secret, but every teenage boy and their brother knew where to go. My brother and I; Loren and Matt; Joe and Pete, and Mark and Johnny—we all knew the path that took us to the infamous spot. Just walk up the road a bit and through the knee-high brush to where Bliss Road fell off and the bluff continued. There you’d find the narrow shaft, a 2-foot-wide run affectionally known as Suicide Hill.

A narrow corridor through the trees, if you aimed it straight and true, you’d have the ride of a lifetime all the way to the tracks. But if you were off by just a bit, you’d crash into oaks and find yourself in a world of hurt (in more ways than one).

Suicide Hill wasn’t really a hill, just one divide of a larger sledding area at the base of Grandad Bluff. Bliss Road, aka “the bluff road” was a steep s-curved road that took ya to the top where we all lived. But down below, at the base of the hill, that’s where the fun really began. It was snow-packed adventure where all the kids gathered for wintertime thrills.

I’ve always loved the snow: sledding, skiing, playing in it; you name it. To me, there’s something magical about those billions of crystalline flakes.

Here’s a fun bit of trivia for ya. Just like our DNA, not ONE snowflake is identical to another. Considering all the snow in the world, that’s unfathomable. While snowflakes appear similar, each has a unique crystalline structure due to factors such as temperature, altitude, and the microscopic piece of dust at it’s core.

For me anyway, snow is something more than just the magical white fluffy stuff we play in. It's a reminder of God’s mercy and the forgiveness through his Son Jesus Christ. Just as there’s a tiny particle at the core of every snowflake (often a piece of dust, pollen, or a bit of soot), we too are made of dust (and dirty at our core).

“To dust you were born, and to dust you shall return” (thus says the Lord).

Genesis 3:19

About the forgiveness God offers — being likened to snow — Kind David wrote:

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow”

Psalm 51:7, ESV

In the New Testament, Jesus’ clothing and hair are described as being “white as snow” – meaning to be pure and uncontaminated. Look out your windows at your snow-covered lawn. Is that not how the snow appears: pure, majestic, and perfect? I thank God, for through Christ, he has washed away our sins to make us whiter than snow.

“Thank you, heavenly Father, for sending your Son Jesus to die on the cross on our behalf. For through Him, you have removed those dirty little particles at our core, so that we may become the righteousness of Christ, and to be whiter than snow. Amen.”

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