Blizzards of Life

I wrote this back in January, 2003.  As you can see from our latest photos, the sentiments still apply.

            This morning we awoke to calmer conditions and about a foot of new snow.  Lots must have fallen during the night.  All was white and still as the wind had turned and was now bringing us lake effect snow from the back side of the storm.  That’s the way it goes up here.  First it blows one way and then turns and blows the other.  Either way, it all means more snow!  It’s quite beautiful, though.

            It all reminded me of the way the past year affected us.  We had many blizzards blow by us.  Ephraim was sent to Afghanistan and then my mother died suddenly.  In early Oct. we buried my cousin, struck down in the prime of his life by a massive heart attack.  By the end of Oct., we buried a sweet young woman from the Church, killed instantly in an auto accident.  At 21, she left a broken marriage and a daughter less than 3 years old.  Two of our members faced unexpected battles with cancer.  The wintry winds were certainly blowing!  They whipped the frozen snows of grief and loss across the landscape of our lives and all but obliterated the Eternal Purpose of God.  It’s not that God isn’t there any more, it’s just that these blizzards blind us!

            We often find ourselves driving through a “blinding” snow or "white out".  Our eyes become mesmerized by the flakes rushing out of the dark at us.  Instead of seeing what lies in our path, or even where our path leads, we are focused on the falling snow.  We are paralyzed!  And so it is in times of crisis.  We squint and lean into the wind, thinking only of the power of this storm.  We forget the landscape beyond – our world becomes small; full of turmoil and noise.

            God is not moved by such storms.  He doesn’t shift or turn His back on us.  Outside the small circle (and it really is small) of our chaos, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  Hebrews 13:8   He is not fickle like men or distracted by the drama of our lives.

            I don’t know about you, but I find great comfort in Malachi 3:6, “I the LORD do not change.  So you, O descendents of Jacob, are not destroyed.”  God IS always the same.  He is always our Rock, firm and steady no matter what storms are blowing between us.  And it is His steadfastness which saves us.  Let’s not be swept away by sudden storms.  Hold firm to the Rock.  Remember He is always there, just beyond the blowing snow.

  The LORD watches over you – the LORD is your shade at your right hand;  the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  The LORD will keep you from all harm  -- He will watch over your life;  the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121:5-8

Love as always,  Elaine (sheltered from the storm)

Frozen in Time

I wrote this a few weeks back…

Although this is our 13th winter up north, I'm still amazed by the weather.  We've had a several days of occasional brittle blue skies and frigid nights.  Sunday night it dropped to minus 27 F.!  There are often days between snowfalls but, because of the intense cold, the snow still lays as sparkling and fresh as the day it fell.  Long icicles hang off the house with nary a drip falling.  Great armloads of snow continue to rest undisturbed on our trees out back.  Even in the woods, the snow still coats the bare branches.  I feel as if time has stopped -- each morning glitters in the sub-zero cold.  Our metal roof booms and buckles as the temp. rises and falls from 10 degrees.  I can almost walk across the back yard on top of two feet of snow without sinking, the crust is so hard!  Has January really passed by?  I'm reminded of C.S. Lewis's land of Narnia where it was "always winter and never Christmas"!  Who can imagine spring or the color of green?

No matter what it feels like, time really is passing.  In just a few weeks I will turn 60!  All of us are moving toward eternity.  So what is the substance of our days?  Are we accomplishing anything that really matters?  In the dead of winter, it's hard to imagine that our efforts will bear fruit.  But there is always work to be done in God's Kingdom.  No matter what the weather, we're here to do the LORD's work -- it's the only thing that will last!  There are many ways you can be involved in God's vital work, too.  There are amazing rewards to be reaped!

  "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.  Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."  Daniel 12:2,3 

Love as always,  Elaine (sparkling in the snow)

Mystery Revealed

Merry Christmas!  How blessed we are…

"concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.  It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.  Even angels long to look into these things."  I Peter 1:10-12.

Imagine!  The prophets of old longed to know and see what we have the opportunity to look into every day!  We hold the revealed and final Word of God -- His message of love to the world!  And through this word we can come to know the Living Word, Jesus Christ.  We can look back upon His birth, life, death, resurrection and glorification.  For centuries the ancients prayed to see what we have laid out before us.  What an awesome privilege it is to live in this time and celebrate the arrival of the Incarnation of God on earth!  May you be overwhelmed by the goodness of God in allowing us to see these things that "even angels long to look into.."

May Christ be the Light which brightens your holiday this year!  After all, His life is the light of men. (John 1:4)

Love and blessings,  Elaine

Singin' in the Rain

Like many of you, I spent many autumn days glumly staring out the window at dreary, rainy weather.  I don't think I can remember a wetter fall!  Our leaves turn and fall sooner than most places and there's nothing like a hard rain to bring them down even quicker.  Add to that the blustery winds which have buffeted our little house on the prairie and you've got bare-naked trees in no time!  But as I watched the gray sheets of rain folding down out of the heavens, I realized what a blessings it is.  It's crucial that the trees have abundant rain just before resting for the winter.  It gives them such a good start in the spring.  It's not the beautiful bridal lace of snow that replenishes the water table.  No, it's the drab blue collar rains of November that fill our wells and irrigation ponds for the future growing season.

"Truth springs from the earth, And righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the LORD will give what is good, And our land will yield its produce."  Psalm 85:10-12  

God knows what is necessary and He provides it in spite of our petulant wishes.  Now I can look outside and see the fresh, new green of a winter crop covering the potato fields like a Christmas chia pet.  Flocks of starlings happily dig for worms, thankful for a reprieve from early winter.  I'm certainly grateful to have mild weather while I'm hanging the outdoor Christmas lights!  What a blessing to be able to travel to the chiropractor, the store or the bank without anxiously watching the skies for a sudden blizzard!

Rest assured, winter will be along soon enough.  Once again I'll sit at the window mesmerized by the silent flakes making muffled marshmallows of every feature in the yard.  Then we'll cancel our travel plans for the day and settle in for winter's rest.  Until then, I'll anticipate lush gardens springing forth from this abundance of rain.  God is soooooooo good!!

"He sends forth springs in the valleys; They flow between the mountains; They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; They lift up their voices among the branches.  He waters the mountains from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.  He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,  And vegetation for the labor of man,  So that he may bring forth food from the earth,  And wine which makes man’s heart glad, that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart. The trees of the LORD drink their fill, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted, Where the birds build their nests, And the stork, whose home is the fir trees."  Psalm 104:16ff

Love as always,  Elaine (singing His praises in the rain)

Flight Patterns

As the autumn weather lingers, the Canadian geese criss-cross the skies from morning till night.  Last night we heard them passing, nearly invisible in the gathering dark.  We hear them coming and know to look to the SW for them.  They cross over us going NE and later we'll see them crossing back in the opposite direction.  They won't be heading south until snow covers their feeding grounds and ice begins to close off their watery resting places.  But they are preparing for that monumental flight.  This year's youngsters follow their parents from field to field, fattening for their journey and learning the "rules" of flight.  Yesterday I watched several families flying together.  The young geese were obviously having a hard time getting the gist of the famous flying V.  They were so close I could hear the whooshing rumble of the "prop wash" tossing them around until they could organize themselves into formation.  I could imagine their sighs of relief as they settled into smoother flight.  After a full day of travel and feeding, they must return to open water, safe from predators prowling in the night.

Their restless meanderings reminded me of the diverse non-fiction I've read recently: the transcontinental flight of 2 teenage boys in a small Piper Cub; the life and religion of Eskimos on the northern coast of Alaska; the sad story of a young Muslim woman incarcerated for her father's attempted coup in Morocco.  In all these stories, I found the same desperate searching for meaning and purpose in this life.  It's as if we think that the more we DO, the more we MATTER.  But is that really true?
I suppose all of us struggle with that question.  Even in our faith, we chase after new programs, seminars, books and 30-day plans.  Is this really the path to purpose?  Don't we already have a purpose?  Are we spending too much time looking for what God has already given us?  Listen to Romans 5:1- 2 
 "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." 
Read on through Romans chapter 6 and see that Paul is writing to Christians - buried into the death of Jesus, through baptism, and now under grace (Rom. 6:14).  Yet he speaks of these blessings - peace, grace, hope - as things we already have!  Why are we rushing about, seeking the blessings of God when they're already purchased for us and within our grasp?
 Paul visited Athens and, as a result, made a very famous speech on Mars Hill.  You can read the entire account in Acts 17:16-33.  But when he stood before the Areopagus he said, 
"Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you." 
This wonderful, awesome God has been proclaimed to us!  What a blessing and treasure that we've been given the wisdom of His Word, the life of His dear Son, His all-powerful Spirit.  What are all these "objects" we dash around collecting for ourselves?   Romans 6:22-23 reminds us,
"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."


Christians - brothers and sisters washed in the Blood of the Lamb - we are on the road to holiness, resulting in eternal life!  Let's live our lives as victorious conquerors, not as clueless sheep chasing after every new thing.
Love as always,  Elaine (taking off my running shoes!) 

Giving Thanks

Although the election may not have turned out the way I had hoped, I’m certainly thankful it is over and our country can get back to business again.  I have been thanking God that we live in a nation where a tightly contested election can occur without violence and bloodshed!  There are many nations in the world where that would not be true.  During the election process our electricity continued without interruption, we were able to travel about and shop, stores carried the usual supplies and we fell asleep at night without a background of gunfire. 

At this time of Thanksgiving perhaps we need to remember to be thankful for those things we often end up complaining about.  And for the freedom to complain about them!  America is a nation of complainers but God has different instructions for Christian citizens:

Jesus laid down the new groundwork in Matthew 5:44 –

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.  He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Romans 13:7 – “Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

1 Peter 2:17 – “Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”

Romans 12:17-18 - "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

Unlike our early Christian brethren, we are neither imprisoned nor being thrown to the lions – shame on us if we do less than the early Christians to honor God and lead others to salvation!

Love as always,  Elaine (praying for our leaders)

In God We Trust

In this year of outspoken political upheaval, I was reminded of a Bible verse which became a rallying cry following 9/11/01. 

                    

2 Chronicles 7:14 - "…if My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Once again we'd do well to remember this sage advice from the Old Testament.  Although it is inappropriate for us to post political signs on the church property, a message from scripture speaks volumes.  So I gathered up my paint brushes and a can of black outdoor paint to spend a hot afternoon making good use of our garbage bin at the roadside.  It's time for all parties to seek God's leading for the future of our nation. 

Whether you are glad or sad with the election results it's time to pray, seeking God's guidance not just for each of us individually, but also as a nation.  Paul, in the midst of a century dripping with the blood of Christian martyrs, was still inspired to write to Timothy about our responsibility to secular leadership, 

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."  1 Timothy 2:1-2.

May God continue to bless America!

Love as always,  Elaine