Prayer for a snowy day

God, thank you for heaps of clouds,
with all their many colours of gray,
the way they drop snowflakes willy-nilly,
blanketing us with white.
Thank you for the sounds of winter;
the echo of a train whistle,
the tick, tick, tick of icy crystals hitting the window,
the squishy sound of snow under under our boots.
Jesus, we want to follow in your footsteps,
placing each foot carefully in the place where you walked.
Your tracks leading straight to the place
where people are hurting,
where people are hungry,
where people are needing your help. 
Sometimes we get lost in our own thoughts,
and lose our way entirely.
Thank you for being with us even in lost places,
thank you for leading us home.
Today we pray for those who are walking through the cold winter of grief,
and those who face health challenges. [name specific people]
Be a shelter for us in every storm.
We pray especially today for people who are homeless,
who live under bridges or in cars or empty buildings,
and face the bitter cold with no warm place to go home to.
Help us to open our hearts to their needs,
and bless the individuals and agencies
who are working to bring justice and hope.
Thank you for your Holy Spirit
enveloping us with love.
Deep love, falling over us,
moment by moment,
one flake at a time.
We want to come to worship
like smiling snowbound children
wading through the world
knee deep in blessing.
God of ice and snow,
hear our prayer on this northern nippy day,
Amen.