TEBOW REDUX, SNOWMAGEDDON, THE VANCOUVER OLYMPICS, AND FAITH IN HAITI

This was the view from my window last Wednesday morning after the snow storm hit my community of Landisville. According to the measuring table in my back yard, 18 more inches had been added to the original 24 from the weekend. The winds had not yet kicked up, but by Thursday this would be looking even more like Narnia or Lake Wobegone or some other location of snowy reputation. When asked what my church was going to do with all the snow in its parking lot, someone quipped, "You could ship it to Vancouver!"

Remember all the controversy over the Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad? It did not even mention the word "abortion," although the word "life" figured prominently. It appeared for thirty seconds early in the Super Bowl (I actually missed it) and the most controversial moment was when Tim playfully tackled his mom. The head of Right to Life, Terry O'Neill still felt it necessary to take a shot at this bit of playfulness, "I am blown away by the celebration of violence against women in it" I think O'Neill was the only person in America to see such a nefarious message in that little moment. The former head of Catholics for Choice (a group favoring abortion rights), Frances Kissling responded, ".It's absurd to claim that this is an endorsement of violence against women. These people (the Tebows) came across as affectionate, loving, funny and happy." In the end Boston Globe columnist, Joan Vennochi(another advocate of what some euphemistically call reproductive rights) was even more pointed about the Pro-Choice efforts to bully CBS into pulling the plug on the ad "No supporter of Roe v Wade could escape the truth. With one choice you could end up with a strapping son; with another choice,you don't. Demonizing the ad featuring this mother and son doesn't change that. It only help their cause." Maybe those Moms who have rambunctous sons were just allowed to reaffirm the sanctity of life, or at least its sense of humor.

Snowmageddon pretty much altered life (read paralyzed in some locales) in the Middle Atlantic region. It created a gridlock on Washington that is still yet to be unlocked. Don't worry, the Dems and the Republicans can get that grid locked up again in a heart beat. Maybe all those pols needed to camp out at the Capital and iron out our problems on jobs, health care reform. At least Mr. Obama got to catch the Georgetown-Duke game.

The Olympics were marred with a tragedy opening day in the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvilli But the grand show of the Opening Ceremony was awe-inspiring in its majesty and beauty. You didn't have to be a Canadian to have your heart stirred by the powerful and proud bilingual singing of "O Canada" by Nikki Yavobky (Why do our people seem to feel the need to butcher the "Star Spangled Banner" like some arrogant contestant in the opening rounds of American Idol?) And there was something absolutely poignant listening to the Haitian immigrant Governor General of Canada, Michaelle Jean formally open the Games. It was the same dignity that I have seen in so many Haitians still digging out from the Earthquake.

And speaking of Haiti,in an insomniac moment I happened upon Anderson Cooper's report from the Day of Remembrance in Port au Prince. Noting that "prayer and praise and Bibles" were evident everywhere, Cooper was in awe of the strength of the Haitians. I am in awe of the power of faith in God.