Book Review: "Treasures of the Snow" by Patricia St. John
/I recently reread Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John, which I read to my kids when they were young. This treasure of a book has been too long buried in the drifts of time and obscurity, but it’s time it was dug out and reintroduced to a new generation of readers and families that can benefit from its lessons.
If you loved the book Heidi as a child, then you will love Treasures of the Snow. Like Heidi, Treasures of the Snow takes place upon the steep mountain slopes of the Swiss Alps, and like Heidi the story is set during simpler times. It’s within this idyllic setting that Annette vows to never forgive Lucien for his part in her little brother’s accident that left little Dani lame. Poor Lucien is overcome with sorrow and guilt over Dani’s accident, but Annette doesn’t care. She wants to punish Lucien, and so she does; yet she also learns that revenge leaves an unwelcome pain in her own heart. Her unforgiveness and Lucien’s despair are the backdrop for the sweet message of a Savior who forgives all our sin and who knows our sorrows. It’s obvious that Patricia St. John understood and loved children, for only a person like that could write a story that so poignantly depicts a child’s struggle to know Jesus Christ and to live for Him, even in trying circumstances.
Here’s an excerpt from the book where Grandmother explains to Annette how Jesus can take away her hatred:
Annette’s eyes were fixed on Grandmother; there was a long, long pause.
Annette broke the silence.
But, Grandmother,” she said, drawing her stool nearer and leaning against the old woman’s knee, “if you hated someone you could not ask Jesus to come in, could you?”
“If you hate someone,” said Grandmother, “it just shows how badly you need to ask Him to come in. The darker the room, the more it needs the light.”
“But I couldn’t stop hating Lucien, said Annette softly, fingering her long braids thoughtfully.
“No,” said Grandmother. “You’re quite right. None of us can stop ourselves thinking wrong thoughts, and it isn’t much good trying. But Annette—when you come down in the morning and find this room dark with the shutters closed, do you say to yourself, ‘I must chase away the darkness and the shadows first, and then I will open the shutters and let in the sun’? Do you waste time trying to get rid of the dark?”
“Of course not!” said Annette.
“Then how do you get rid of the dark?”
“Well, I pull back the shutters, of course, and then the light comes in!”
“But what happens to the dark?”
“I don’t now; it just goes when the light comes!”
“That is just what happens when you ask the Lord Jesus to come in,” said Grandmother. “He is Love, and when love comes in, hatred and selfishness and unkindness will give way to it, just as the darkness gives way when you let in the sunshine. But to try to chase it out alone would be like trying to chase the shadows out of a dark room. It would be a waste of time.” [Pages 153-154]
Quotes from Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John
[Lucien shares his story with the old man of the mountain and the old man tells Lucien his story] “You tell me there is no way to start again, but you are wrong. I have sinned far, far more deeply than you have done, and have suffered in a way that a boy like you can know nothing about. But I believe that God has forgiven me and I am spending my days working to give back what I owe, and striving to become what God meant me to be. It is all I can do—it is all anyone can do. Our past we must leave to God.” Page 130
“Best of all, it was the birthday of the Lord Jesus. Although Dani did not talk about it very much, he thought about it a lot. It made him strangely happy to know that he shared the birthday of the perfect Child.
“What could I give to the Lord Jesus for a birthday present?” he had asked, resting his elbows on Grandmother’s knees, and looking up into her face.
“You can give your own self to Him,” Grandmother had answered, pausing a moment in her knitting. “And you can ask Him to make you very loving and obedient. That will please Him better than anything.”
So throughout Christmas Dani strove to be loving and obedient, in order to please the Child whose birthday he shared, and his love just overflowed to everyone. He tidied Grandmother’s workbox, and wiped the dishes for Annette; in the afternoon he went out to the shed and visited the cows, murmuring Christmas messages into their silky ears. And at the end of the day, when he knelt to pray, he whispered, “I hope I am giving You a happy birthday, Lord Jesus.” Page 145
“Grandmother, what does it mean when it says that Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts [Revelation 3:20]?”
“It means,” said Grandmother, laying down her knitting, and giving Annette her whole attention, “that the Saviour sees that your life is full of wrong things and dark thoughts. He came down and was crucified so that He might bear the punishment of those wrong deeds and those dark thoughts instead of you. Then He arose so that He could come into your life and live in you, and turn out all wrong thoughts, and think His good, loving thoughts in you instead. It is like a man knocking at the door of a dirty, dark, dusty house and saying, ‘If you will let me in I will clear away the dust and the darkness and make it beautiful and bright.’ But remember, He never pushes in—He only asks if He may come in. That is what knocking means. You have to say, ‘Yes, Lord Jesus, I need You and want You to come and live in me’—that is what opening the door means.”
Annette’s eyes were fixed on Grandmother; there was a long, long pause.
Annette broke the silence.
But, Grandmother,” she said, drawing her stool nearer and leaning against the old woman’s knee, “if you hated someone you could not ask Jesus to come in, could you?”
“If you hate someone,” said Grandmother, “it just shows how badly you need to ask Him to come in. The darker the room, the more it needs the light.”
“But I couldn’t stop hating Lucien, said Annette softly, fingering her long braids thoughtfully.
“No,” said Grandmother. “You’re quite right. None of us can stop ourselves thinking wrong thoughts, and it isn’t much good trying. But Annette—when you come down in the morning and find this room dark with the shutters closed, do you say to yourself, ‘I must chase away the darkness and the shadows first, and then I will open the shutters and let in the sun’? Do you waste time trying to get rid of the dark?”
“Of course not!” said Annette.
“Then how do you get rid of the dark?”
“Well, I pull back the shutters, of course, and then the light comes in!”
“But what happens to the dark?”
“I don’t now; it just goes when the light comes!”
“That is just what happens when you ask the Lord Jesus to come in,” said Grandmother. “He is Love, and when love comes in, hatred and selfishness and unkindness will give way to it, just as the darkness gives way when you let in the sunshine. But to try to chase it out alone would be like trying to chase the shadows out of a dark room. It would be a waste of time.” Pages 153-154
“What is the matter, Annette?” said Grandmother suddenly. “You look unhappy.”
Annette didn’t answer for a long time—and then she said, “Grandmother.”
“Yes, my child.”
“Grandmother, you said that if I asked Jesus to come into my heart He would make me fond of Lucien, and send away the thoughts that didn’t like him. And last week it was all right. But now when I see Dani with his leg hurting, and remember he used to be so strong, all these thoughts come again.”
“Yes,” and Grandmother, “I expect they do. Everyday of your life ugly, angry, selfish thoughts will knock at the door and try to get in again. Don’t try to push them back yourself; ask the Lord Jesus to meet them with His love. Think about the love of Jesus all you can. Read about the love of Jesus everyday in your Bible—and if you keep your heart full of it there just won’t be room for those thoughts to stay.” Page 188-189
