TWA:NE (1) Early Rains

It rained hard most of the day. There were such strong crosswinds that it was blinding at times, especially behind big trucks, and Alan ended up doing the lion’s share of the driving. Mists enveloped the tops of tall buildings in Cleveland, Ohio. It reminded me of the mists enshrouding the phenomenal skyscrapers in Shanghai . . . only the buildings in Cleveland aren’t very tall. (Population under 0.4 million vs. 24.87 million in Shanghai!)

I-90 across Ohio is a major trucking artery for our country, and huge trucks clogged both lanes. Sheets of water streamed down the windshield, and at times the roads were so full of water we feared hydroplaning, although our sweet “Sanctuary” (motorhome) plowed through bravely without losing her footing. The strong winds rattled at the ceiling vents and every few hours the uneven road conditions caused enough shaking to crack open the vents just enough for rain to force its way through in the bathroom, spraying the sink and leaving trails on the floor. (Thankfully, none of the other vents leaked.)

Our little plush mascot, “Happy” landed upside down on the floor after one particularly large bump in the road. I’d brought lots of books, idea games, and questions to discuss, but it took all Alan’s concentration to keep us safely on the road so we sat in rather tense silence for hours. By 6:30 pm, we crossed the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania. The sky was a greenish-grey and fading fast into twilight. Bolts of lightning kept striking on both our right and left-hand sides in the distance, and sometimes there were spectacular displays directly in front of us, looking like great, webbed root systems flashing down from heaven to suck water from the earth. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining (some gentle drizzle at times) yesterday or this morning while we were packing, so everything onboard was dry and safe.

It seemed somehow fitting to have this difficult beginning to autumn. We’ve planned no trips for winter (either 2021 or in the winter of our lives) because they might be overly challenging, but we had to attempt an adventure now during autumn—even if it ends up burdensome—because fall has such hope of being brilliant, especially in New England and eastern Canada, which are famous for their mountains filled with blazing leaves. Autumn marks the transition from summer bliss to winter wonder, and it’s definitely too soon in our lives to stop trying!

I think of autumn rains as the time of life’s “latter” rains, but in the Bible, they’re considered “the early rains.” Why? In Israel, there are basically two seasons: Winter (late October to Mid-May, when it is cool and rainy) and Summer (May-October, when it tends to be hot and dry). Therefore, the “early rains” are the first rains that come in the fall at the beginning of the winter season. There are also two seasons to plant, water, and harvest a crop. As fairly early into our retirement years, I love the thought of having a second chance to raise a crop! Our first time ’round, Alan’s career was trying to help people medically, and I reared our brood of children. This time ’round, perhaps our ministries can be more involved with spiritual healing and nurturing.

In America and the UK (and the entire northern hemisphere), fall wheat needs to be planted before the early rains. We watched a show on Brit Box about a celebrity who tried to farm in the Cotswolds of England but couldn’t finish planting the fields in time and everything flooded. His farm turned to muck and his crops were ruined. As Alan and I plowed down the highway, I reflected on our own plowing and planting. Had we waited too long to begin this trip, which I hoped to be sowing seeds for future writing projects?

This morning’s devotional reading from Dear Old Man (one of the books we brought on our trip) included an admonishment to continue to schedule rigorously, not only for wise investments in our precious times of worship, work, and fellowship, but also in taking time to appreciate God’s wondrous earth. I found this comforting, as we are taking another month to experience the beauty of God’s creation here in America. What will we learn? What will we find? I hope we’ve prepared properly. We’ve certainly tried! Hopefully, our planting won’t turn to muck and be destroyed!   

“Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he hath given you the rain of righteousness, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, even the first rain, and the latter rain in the first month” (Joel 2:23).

Exploring The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Summer is a perfect time to visit the Apostle Islands, and our first visit was in July when our children were young enough to find jumping off the rocks into Lake Superior’s freezing water a source of endless exhilaration.

That trip was immortalized in our family’s collective memory as unforgettable and worth repeating.

The other astonishing memory was the kindness of a retired doctor’s wife, who took in our entire family for the night (nine of us, including seven children) because there were literally no rooms left at the inn. Any of them. Nor in any of the campgrounds!

The Apostle Islands are a cluster of twenty-two islands off the coast of Northern Wisconsin at Bayfield, a picturesque resort community with 476 residents.

So, a travelers’ advisory: Get your reservations early! We arrived (as I recall) around the Fourth of July about twenty years ago, and we were naive enough to imagine that we’d find a campground—or at least a couple of hotel rooms—somewhere. Hotels were very gracious and called around for us, but as a last resort, they called the Chamber of Commerce, who contacted this amazing lady who put us up out of the kindness of her heart because we had no alternative (besides sleeping in our van). That was an unimaginable act of grace and mercy; I will always be inspired and grateful to her!

Autumn Leaves on our way to Bayfield, Wisconsin

Fast forward to September, 2020.

Alan and I planned enough ahead to snag a spot at the Apostle Islands Area Campground, which was perfectly adequate for our needs,

and we bought two tickets for the “Grand Tour” around the island for the following day.

It was a golden day, and both the boat and our tour guide were up to the challenge of keeping us totally charmed for three hours while they glided around 19 of the islands, telling memorable stories. “Jay,” our guide, was about our age and had spent his entire life in the community, so he was an endless source of facts and humor, all told with a small-town Garrison Keillor persona.

I don’t want to make this too long, so I’ll give you just a few of the facts and a few of my favorite stories. The Apostle Islands have traces of human civilization from 100 BC on, and for centuries they were inhabited by Ojibwa people, who gave each island its own name, such as “Gichi-ishkwaayaan,” “Mooniingwanekaaning,” and “Gaagaagiwanzhiikaag.”

As a group, the islands were eventually renamed by the French historian Charlevoix as “The Apostle Islands” in honor of the twelve apostles of Jesus and because there are twelve large islands among the twenty-two.

The islands are known for their spectacular sea caves,

historic lighthouses,

and thick boreal forests filled with sweetly scented balsam firs, white cedars, pines, and spruce as well as paper-white birches and quaking aspens.

Bald eagle. Apostle Islands

The day we were there, we got to “see it all” plus a few added perks, such as bald eagles.

One thing we didn’t see (and didn’t really miss) were bears. One of North America’s greatest concentrations of black bears is on Stockton Island, although they’ve been known to show up pretty much anywhere on the islands.

We were happy to find maple leaves rather than bear tracks in the woods!

The most famous bear was (is?) “Scar,” who caused so much trouble in the campgrounds that they relocated him to Minnesota, but he somehow managed to find his way home in just one day! Shocked but determined, the park rangers relocated him to South Dakota (which is a 13.5-hour bus ride away from the Apostle Islands).

Curious roots of an aged evergreen tree

Guess what? Two weeks later, Scar showed up back at home, safe and sound! Sadly, Scar’s feeling safe and sound made the campers feel unsafe and unsound, so he was finally confined to (if I understood correctly) quarters at a nice, comfy zoo where he couldn’t escape.

Ice Caves on Apostle Islands by “Jeff the Quiet.” (Public Domain)

Now, if any of you are wishing to visit the Apostle Islands at some time other than summer or fall, I have heard there are sometimes spectacular sea caves that form from wild Lake Superior storms pounding the sandstone cliffs. I would love to see them sometime ( . . . maybe).

Our guide, Jay, also had a pretty fascinating story to tell about the winter of 1977 when a man bought a cottage on one of the islands and decided to have it moved across the frozen ice to another of the islands on the back of a semi-truck. The ice was thick enough, and the truck would have made it had it not gotten stuck in the snow. While trying to free the truck, the tractor went through the ice and plunged into 70 feet of freezing water before settling on the bottom of Lake Superior. They weren’t sure what to do with the cottage (which was fully furnished, even with pictures on the walls). They were afraid it would float away in the spring, so they decided to sink it too and try to retrieve it in the spring. Four months later, divers and a crane were able to pull up the tractor and bring it ashore. However, when they tried to raise the house, the roof caved in and the entire structure imploded. Hard come; hard go! 😦 The most amazing part of the story to the locals was that the truck was cleaned up and still ran, so the owner was able to drive it back to Minnesota!

So many stories. So much history! So much beauty. Isn’t life full of unexpected events, acts of kindness, vistas of grandeur, villainism, heroism, disappointments and happy endings? To me, the greatest story of all is that of God’s love for us, and how He sent his beloved Son, Jesus. Sadly, nobody took care of Mary and Jospeh for the night when there was no room at the inn, so Jesus was born in a stable. Still, Jesus lived and died for us so that we can have an abundant life here on earth and an eternal life with him in heaven. Three days after Jesus died, God raised him from the dead, and he is now alive and well! (Even better than the truck that was raised from the freezing deeps!) Now, there’s a story just perfect for any season of the year and with the happiest ending of all!

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
(John 10:10)

Snowflakes Falling

Every snowflake is unique and perfect, and yet I usually take snowflakes for granted, as I also all-too-often do with people, despite the fact that each person is a uniquely designed, beautiful creation of God! To make sure you know the bar is low for poetic offerings (in case you want to share one of yours but are feeling insecure), I’ve gone back in my memory to a poem I wrote in childhood which expresses the simplicity of observing snowflakes (and people) without particular delight or fascination when we’re preoccupied.

After deciding to share this little ditty, it dawned on me that I’ve now lived so long in the country that I have no Christmasy scenes of busy city sidewalks for illustrations! However, I found some photos from around our home in years gone by. I was approximately the age of my youngest son (on the left, 20 years ago) when I wrote this poem. So, don’t be shy about sharing your poetry, no matter how old you are! 🙂

“Snowflakes falling to the ground
With their patterns, soft and round.
As they fall from the sky
People watch them passing by.”
(—Kathryn Armstrong, circa 1960)

The incredible beauty of a winter landscape,
which turns our simple country lane into a fairyland!

It is God “who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number. Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him” (Job 9:10-11). Oh, that we are able to perceive God and not take his gorgeous creations for granted!!

Seasonal Splendor

Green

To gold

To brown

To ground.

Autumn leaves.

Sparkling

spangles;

Dripping

dangles.

Winter snows.

Budding

Blooming

Bursting

Beauty.

Spring flowers.

Flooding

Fragrance

Flowing

Fullness.

Summer fruits.

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

(Written and illustrated by Kathryn W. Armstrong, September, 2020)

All photos taken from around our home except for “Beauty” (Giverny, France), “Spring Flowers” (Mount Stewart, Ireland) and “Fullness” (picking apples at Robinettes in Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Mud Season

Mud season is definitely in progress in Michigan. After the last of the winter snows have melted, it takes a while before the world begins to show signs of new life and transformation.

The red-winged blackbirds have returned, but their cheerful serenading falls on deaf ears, and they’re unable to woo the dormant trees into budding.

There are mud seasons in our lives, too, following freezing winters where life seems to stand still. Of course, there are usually some pretty significant losses during the process, like one of our returning geese, who became Mr. Fox’s Passover feast. 😦

Marshmallow, the Muskrat, wakes up from winter and washes up for breakfast

I was texting with my dear friend, Sue Nykamp, who had some helpful insights about the mud seasons in our lives. I asked her permission to pass her reflections along to you: “Sometimes we have to sludge through the mud, but it builds muscles along the way, and when we come out of the pit, we’re in better shape than before. So, we can encourage ourselves with the realization that XX is ‘building muscles’.”

“Another lesson learned…. savor the moment and soak it in! I am learning! Bob [her husband] says old people are wise because they’ve made a lot of mistakes. I like that one. Yes, with every mistake or challenge, we have to sludge through it and sometimes carry the weight of that with us until we truly give it up to God, but then we are better for having learned from it. 2.0 versions of ourselves are good. Looking forward to 3.0.”

Reginald, the red-winged blackbird, serenading from our balcony

Amen, Sister! Let’s keep sludging through the mud seasons, and let’s keep singin’ in the rain like the red-winged blackbirds! Sooner or later, springtime will come! I’m pretty sure I can hear this one singing . . .

It Will Be Worth It All

“Oft times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,
We’re tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;
But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,
All tears forever over in God’s eternal day.

“Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,
We’re tossed and driven on, no human help in sight;
But there is one in heav’n who knows our deepest care,
Let Jesus solve your problem – just go to Him in pray’r.

“Life’s day will soon be o’er, all storms forever past,
We’ll cross the great divide, to glory, safe at last;
We’ll share the joys of heav’n – a harp, a home, a crown,
The tempter will be banished, we’ll lay our burden down.

Refrain: “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.” (by Esther Kerr Rusthoi, 1941)

First crocuses emerging in our yard this spring, taken by Alan!

“I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised” (2 Samuel 22:4).

Goodbye Winter!

With lots of sunshine and soaring temperatures in the ten-day forecast, Alan and I decided it was time to head to Grand Haven and celebrate a sunset send-off for winter.

Theoretically it was above freezing, but a fierce wind was blowing across Lake Michigan so the beach was treacherously icy.

Only the far reaches of our eyesight could perceive open water as a small ribbon of black on the horizon.

Despite the wind nipping at our fingers and noses, we stood transfixed.

In the distance behind us was a long row of people watching from the warmth of their cars, and in distance ahead were a few brave souls trekking out to the end of the icy pier. We were content with our somewhat precarious perch on the shoreline.

Translucent chunks of ice had buckled and broken into sharp, geometric shapes that shimmered pink and purple in the glowing sunset.

Before driving to Grand Haven, we debated whether or not we’d be disappointed in the color, since it was a perfectly clear evening.

In fact, it was so gorgeous I found myself thinking, “I’ve gotta take lots ‘n’ lots of pictures to share!”

“Hopefully, some of them will turn out!”

A pair of geese soared overhead, and I wondered where they were headed. Maybe to our little lake? It was time for our geese to return.

Do you know how long a sunset takes? Only about five minutes!

Once the sun starts to dip below the horizon, it goes in a twinkle, and yet every moment the light and color change. We watched a group of silent birds, so high in the sky we couldn’t identify them. Flying somewhere into the wild, pink yonder.

As the sun gasped its last breath before plunging underwater, I could finally see the ominous waves rolling in toward the ice-jammed shore.

Goodbye Sunset. Goodbye Winter.

Goodbye Snow Moon! I’d watched the last full moon of winter rising like a Hallmark movie set over our lake just last week. March’s full moon will be the “Sugar” Moon or the “Sap” Moon, because the sap is starting to run!

We could only pull ourselves away from the frozen beach after the last rays of light were losing strength. I sighed happily and leaned heavily on Alan’s arm for support. We hadn’t worn our Yak Trax, and the beach was pitted with icy rifts and tiny valleys.

What a blessing and comfort to have a mate to walk through the seasons and sunsets of life! What a blessing to have our eternal Father, upon whose everlasting arms we can lean even more heavily as the sunset of life approaches. Will the end be glorious and beautiful . . . calm despite the winds, like this sunset?

What a privilege to live on Earth, the wondrous home God’s created for us!

“I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me
in the night seasons” (Psalm 16:7).

Reluctant to Accept Spring

For the first time in my memory, instead of being overwhelmed by euphoria when the warmth of spring began to melt our snows this week, I’ve found myself resisting the puffy clouds and warm breezes. My daughter’s family is coming this weekend, and we’ve been contemplating sledding, ice skating, and building a snowman!

This is Alan’s first winter to play since childhood, and it’s been exhilarating to watch! He’s been skiing through our woods pretty much every day. He’s turned our home into a winter lodge, preparing our stores of old kids’ skis and sharpening the skates for our grandchildren.

Snowshoeing on our 48th anniversary

Since my hip replacement is fresh (last fall), I’m not taking any chances on falling, but we’ve been loving our treks around the lake and through the woods together on snowshoes.

Who needs to head south for the winter? Not us! We’ve loved every day of freezing weather . . . sun and snow.

Enter spring! The lake is turning into slush, the trails melting, the stream running, and with a forecast of 43° and a 40% chance of “frozen mix” for Saturday. Any plans for a snowman might have to be reconfigured into creating a rain goon. 😦

How is it that I resist change? Isn’t spring supposed to be glorious? The long-awaited reprieve from the harshness of winter? For many—maybe even most—spring will come as a welcome relief. For those who are suffering from physical pain and emotional isolation. For those who are suffering under the burdens of cold and darkness . . . who long for warmth and light.

One of my sisters, who lives in Florida, has had weather in the 70-80°s! One day it was 86°—all the warmth and light she could handle! My brother who lives in northern California has been enjoying sunshine and warmth all winter! His son, who lives in southern California, reported (via the cartoon above) that they have over a foot of sunshine!

That day, Alan measured our snow: about 15 inches! No matter where we live, if we aren’t suffering and are enjoying life, then we don’t look forward to spring with quite the same intensity.

I wonder, will I resist leaving the winter of earth for the springtime of heaven when my time comes? Will I respond with a bit of shock? “But Lord, I’ve just made so many plans for the future!” I have prepared for this or that project with my children and grandchildren . . .

Swan arriving at our lake in early spring

Ah, but springtime is glorious! I will embrace it and look forward to it with joy! Goodbye winter. If you must leave, then I am ready to leave as well. It may be today, or it may not be for twenty-five years. It may come slowly, or it may come suddenly, just at some moment when I’m preparing for company! It may even arrive when the trumpet of the Lord sounds and we are caught up together to be with Him forever. But, I lift up my hands to the Lord in anticipation of springtime, both here on earth and on into eternity! Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Bluebirds awaiting spring in our cherry tree

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7).

“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

More Than Eye Can See, by Lisa W.

I noticed a hint of pink sunrise across the west as I drove to an early morning dental appointment last week.  Just a strip of pastel spanning the length of the horizon with the rest of the sky clear to blue as the sun rose behind me.  I tried to take a picture to capture it once I parked, but the camera couldn’t see what my eyes could.

The parking lot for the dentist’s office abuts a cemetery; what a contrast as the horizon glowed and tops of trees were lit by the rising sun! My eyes can look beyond and focus in, whereas the camera sees all and doesn’t necessarily distinguish.

Even inside the office, thick glass block windows could not keep out the dazzling sunlight from sparkling in through the window blind crevices.

As I turned to the east and looked, I saw more beauty of the actual rising sun illuminating a large plume of steam from a building nearby. Sunshine and shadows, glimpses of God’s glory in creation stirred my soul to praise!

As I reflected in prayer later, I considered the reality that I can see only in one direction.  I can’t look both west and east at the same time. Likewise, I may perceive one thing or see something that God is doing, but He is doing even more that what I am seeing.  As I looked in one direction, I saw beauty, but simultaneously behind me was different beauty.  I sensed God’s invitation to trust Him: Look around because I am doing more than you currently see.  Even if it’s beautiful, there’s more!  Even if you can’t see, there’s more!  I AM at work.

He is a God who is able to do “abundantly more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).  That encourages me to trust Him with my own areas of struggle and in my concerns for others. As I pray, I can be comforted that He is doing more than I can see, and so I pray with expectant hope through faith in Jesus Christ. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. 
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long” (Psalm 25:4-5).

Credit: Written and illustrated by my dear friend, Lisa Walkendorf. Thank you for this lovely reminder that we don’t have 360° circle vision. We are unidirectional. God is omni-directional, both spatially and temporally, and He is love, so we can trust Him!

Winter Wonderlands

Despite the fierceness of winter storms, they often leave incredible scenes of beauty in their wake. As we contemplate the recent destruction from this last round, I thought it might be therapeutic to see some of the wonderlands created by snows in the present and past. Here are a few of the most beautiful I could find by searching. I hope you enjoy them!

Finland-Image-courtesy-of-DynamikSan04Bored-Panda.jpg

By Gene Lee, who commented, “Only God can create such beauty!”.jpg

Snowflake. Flickr Free to Use.jpeg

Snowy Landscape pixelstalk.net/winter-and-snow-wallpaper/.jpg

China-courtesy-of-DrFetusRNBored-Panda.jpg

Cabbage Patch down south (last week, I think). USA-courtesy-of-9999monkeysBored-Panda.jpg

European Railway in Winter-courtesy-of-MeunderwearsBored-Panda-683×1024.jpg

Carn Ban Mor Scotland Image-courtesy-of-IceBeanBored-Panda.jpg

Beaver Creek Colorado-courtesy-of-spicedpumpkinsBored-Panda.jpg

Finland-courtesy-of-Luciphyr729Bored-Panda.jpg

Japan-courtesy-of-porkchop_d_clownBored-Panda.jpg (Only in Japan, right?!)

Versailles in snow Image-courtesy-of-Simmo5150Bored-Panda.jpg

Ice and River pixelstalk.net/winter-and-snow-wallpaper/.jpg

Snowy River pixelstalk.net/winter-and-snow-wallpaper/.jpg

Winter Sunset and clouds in mountains
pixelstalk.net/winter-and-snow-wallpaper/.jpg

When compared to the stunning beauty—fun and fascination—of images from around the world now accessible via the internet, pictures from home lack luster! I couldn’t find anything in my collection to match the brilliance and expansiveness of the world’s most beautiful sites, so at first I was just going to share “the best of the best.” But then, it occurred to me that I wanted to share the best of what I have too, even though it can’t “compete” with the world’s finest!

We bought our home in the winter, and I thought this was a meadow. In fact, it’s a swamp! Nothing too exciting here, but you know what? I love our swamp during every season, and I love being able to run outside and experience its intimate secrets . . . turtles lined up on logs in spring . . . swans and cygnets finding refuge in the summer . . . deer criss-crossing through the snow in winter.

Here’s our woods in winter. Nothing spectacular, but every tree in every neighborhood where we live looked just as beautiful! Isn’t it wonderful that we don’t have to travel to the ends of the earth to experience the loveliness of winter?

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

Weather Worries

Hasn’t this winter weather been wild? The birthday party for our granddaughter Amélie over the weekend had to be canceled due to weather concerns about traveling via stormy Lake Michigan roads. (Over 100 schools were closed in the Chicago area.) But, that’s nothing compared to the horrendous winter storms that have plagued not only our country but many northern countries around the world!

National Weather Service, AccuWeather

This past week, there were 17,791 storms reported to the National Weather Service from every corner of America and more than 58 deaths attributed to severe weather conditions. Thousands of flights were canceled: 2,700 on one day, including 1,500 in Texas. In Minnesota, the Hibbing/Chisholm weather station recorded a record low at —38°F. On February 13, Bismarck, North Dakota set a new record with temperatures plunging to —28°F. and there are another 2,400 preliminary cold temperature records being investigated throughout the country. Last Thursday morning, over 100 cars were stuck and abandoned around Florence, Alabama. In Virginia, the State Police reported aiding 224 vehicles that were stuck in the snow and responding to another 358 vehicle crashes. By Friday morning, Little Rock, Arkansas reported 15 inches of snow—tying with their all-time record reported over a century ago!

But the hardest-hit areas in North America were Mexico and the state of Texas, where four million people lost power in each of those places. Cities opened “emergency warming centers” but then even some of these lost power and had to shut down. More than 500 people crammed into one shelter in Houston . . . but (obviously) there may be problems going forward with COVID- 19 issues. I haven’t followed the crisis in Mexico, but in Texas the power is back on for all but about 15,000 residents. However, burst pipes and waterlines are still causing severe water shortages. One of my girlfriends, Susie, is being provided water from her daughter’s home. Another friend mentioned that because delivery trucks couldn’t get through, grocery stores got emptied of produce and dairy products and there were issues with gasoline stations being out of fuel.

Thankfully, temperatures are returning to normal, trucks are able to come to the rescue again, and—although it won’t return to normal for a while (or forever for those who’ve lost loved ones)—life is beginning to resume moving forward from the frozen gridlock of last week.

In the wake of all these disasters, there have been the usual discussions of blame and a lack of preparedness. My girlfriend Marilyn, who lives in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, had this to say (and I repeat it for you because I think she’s right): “Ercot, the overseer of the state’s electrical system, is getting flack for not being prepared. As I thought about this I couldn’t help but think that blaming is useless. The last time that the temp in Dallas fell to -2 degrees was on January 31, 1949, 72 years ago! This is NOT an every year occurrence . . . the coldest ever recorded since recording began was -8 degrees on February 12, 1899. I do think that lessons were learned with this, and that steps will be taken to boost electrical production in the future when warnings of an approaching Arctic cold front is forecast.”

I grieve for all those who have suffered because of this terrible storm, and I pray for healing. As humans, we can only do “so much” to prepare for the unusual and unexpected. Those who live hand-to-mouth cannot “save up” because they haven’t enough even for the present. I understand that, and this is where personal charity and governmental support are critical for national survival.

Our friend, David Snoek, camping in the snow!

However, on a spiritual level, there is no reason why we cannot be prepared for coming spiritual disaster. God’s offer of salvation by faith in Christ is available to everyone, regardless of their wealth or worthiness: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). Unlike freak winter storms, we ALL know that death awaits us. The only thing we don’t know is “when.”

Are you prepared? We have one friend (Dave) who spent the coldest night last week in a sleeping bag and tent on his front porch. He’s a winter survival instructor, so he takes self-discipline and training very seriously.

How about you and me? Are we prepared for death ourselves? Are we prepared to help others? Are we willing to train rigorously so that when an emergency arrives, we’ll be ready to help?

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
(Hebrews (9:27).

PS.—If you are not prepared to die but would like to be, please click on the “Coming to Christ” link at the top of this page.

Photo Credits: 1. Snow higher than the front door!-courtesy-of-Xingua92Bored-Panda
3. Congress Avenue after 5in of snow fell in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Sandy Carson/Zuma Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
5-6. Used by permission of our friend, Dave Snoek. Brave man! His wife didn’t mind sleeping inside their home that night! 🙂