February smacked us in the face.
Can't believe January has already come and gone. Until now, we've been quite fortunate here in my part of Oklahoma. Just last week I was boasting of our 75 degree temperatures. It was wonderful. Then wham bam, on February 1st, we got slammed with the rest of the country. Seven inches of snow (lying on a sheet of ice) closed churches, schools and many many stores. My chiropractor called and rescheduled my appointment. Good thing. Don't think I dare waddle out onto that icy mess.
Don't know if the mail has come or not. We haven't ventured down our driveway to find out. Can barely push the door open to get the newspaper. Snowdrifts. However....
We are so blessed. We've had lights, heat, water and television. We had a bit of frozen pipe in one of our bathrooms, but a blow-dryer fixed that. I lost internet service till today, but that was just as well. Don't need to knock my neck out of joint when I can't see the chiro till Friday (maybe...depends on whether we thaw out or not).
They predict record ZERO to greet us tomorrow morning. Right now it is 2-below with our windchill factor. Forecasters say our thaw begins on Friday. That's far better than our relatives in Connecticut can hope for.
My brother's wife has no place to put all the snow that's piled up from their record storms this winter. I got an email from my sister-in-law from Florida. She's so grateful she moved south. Her son called from Connecticut and told her he had to climb up and shovel off his brand new roof. The weight of the snow must have wiggled its way through some crevice and caused a leak into his master bedroom. They get snow by the foot--not the inch. I loved it when I was young...but have come to truly appreciate southern Oklahoma as I've grown older. We may have cold for a few days, then it's gone. New England has is for months.
Couldn't believe over a thousand cars were buried on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago. Thousands stranded for hours upon hours. Unbelieveable that anyone would go out with all the storm-warnings we had. Man makes a habit of ignoring warnings. The Psalmist began his work with warnings:
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." Psalm 1:1-3
Seems many see no need to heed warnings. Storms are coming: Smoking kills. Texting while driving kills. Driving under the influence of alcohol kills. Sin kills. And when we ignore the warnings of God, we have only ourselves to blame. He warns us to stay away from so much--not to hurt us, but to protect us. Yet, we ignore His Word, dismiss His instructions, quench His Spirit and go our own way. We walk where we shouldn't. Linger when we should run. Surrender when we should resist. Then we wail and cry for Him to help us out of our self-imposed plights. Yet, even in our sinfulness, He stands faithful to forgive--filled with mercy to pour out each morning. Such grace. Such love. You'd think every stone-cold heart would melt, wouldn't you?
I have so much to talk about. Hopefully, as I am able, I'll be writing more frequently. However, I'm learning to pace the time I spend at the computer. While I sit here at my laptop, I place a little stuffed puppy behind my neck to relieve my neck. The chiropractor is really helping me avoid taking pain meds. Hate those things. Make ya feel loopy...not to mention what they do to your liver and kidneys. How do I know? They have "warnings" on their labels. Allstate wasn't too keen about me seeing the chiropractor. But that's okay. I'm not too keen about taking a bunch of drugs. After all. I've been warned. selahV
