Category Archives: Outdoor world

Left and Right

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This morning in church, just as the service started, a snowstorm started, too. Because the temperature was above freezing, it didn’t “stick,” but it was very pretty. I noticed something funny, though.

WestNorthOut the western windows snowflakes were gently falling straight down. Out the north they were whipping sideways. I figured it was the shape of the building com- bined with wind currents.

It reminded me of a visit we made to Hawaii 27 years ago. The “wild island” of Kauai had beautiful beaches and rolling waves, but no one was swimming. That’s because skies were forever full of threatening black clouds and winds were fierce.

But then I learned the truth. While catching up on laundry at a public laundromat, I was grousing about the bad weather when another mom shared something interesting. “You know, don’t you, that on the other side of the island it’s always sunny?”

She explained how something called “localized weather phenomena” caused radically different weather systems on different sides of the island, sometimes to the extreme. We were on the south end, and if we drove a few miles toward the west, she said, we’d be on “the warm sunny side.”

These two weather stories reminded me of a biblical Proverb that says we shouldn’t let our left hand know what our right is doing. The instruction refers to our giving. God says we should do it in secret, telling us that he sees all anonymous giving and will reward us accordingly.

Anonymous giving isn’t all that common these days, though I suppose if it’s truly anonymous, who would know? Maybe the Bible’s point is that giving in secret comes with a couple of perks: it’s a type of hard-won victory to accomplish it without anyone knowing, and even better than that, God himself will be the One to reward us.

Left and rightOf course we can’t really give in such a way that our left hand isn’t aware of what our right hand is doing, since both are connected to the same brain. But then again, watching the same snowstorm behave independently west and north, and the same island vary significantly south and west makes me want to try.

“When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-4)

Praising and Praying with Mary

A praise report on grandson Anders, doing well at home and now up to 5 pounds 11 ounces!

Freezin’ Fun

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Here in Michigan, our weather is really cold. Freezing, in fact. Actually, below freezing. Tonight we’ll go down to – 8 actual temperature.

Although Jack loves the cold and develops a thick coat much like a bear’s, I’m not a fan. But that wasn’t always true. The authorities in our childhood neighborhood encouraged children to play outdoors regardless of the weather, especially so when it was extra-cold. Once we got a good cold snap, the fire department would bring their high-volume hoses to a steep hill near our home and flood it till it had become a five inch-thick slab of straight-down glare ice.

Ready... set...This kid-magnet was nick-named “Suicide Hill” by firemen and children alike, though no one actually died there. It dropped down to a broad, icy beach that led to Lake Michigan’s shoreline (visible here as we slide down backwards). If we aimed just right, we could sail all the way there. Never mind that we had to dodge trees and concrete-encased bar-b-q grills along the way.

Mom, ever-ready with her camera, encouraged us to head for Suicide Hill often, sometimes taking the whole church youth group with her. Below zero? No matter. Can’t find a good sled? Go down on your rear-end.

Whee!We learned to balance with expertise, standing straight up on our clumsy buckle-galoshes all the way down the hill at high speeds. Yes there were accidents, but nothing with permanent consequences.

Yesterday I stood in my kitchen listening to a repair man describe the bumps and bruises he endured during childhood, ex- pressing gratitude for the freedom to learn by experience. “Today’s kids are stopped at every turn from having good old-fashioned fun,” he said,  “all in the name of safety.”

Immediately I thought of our heavenly Parent and the boundaries he sets for us… or doesn’t. Just as our parents let us freely experiment in the great outdoors, God allows us to do the same, never protecting us with complete safety. He gives us free rein to make decisions and follow desires however we please, opting in and out of wisdom. And he lets us experience all kinds of natural consequences, both good and bad, with the hope we’ll learn from them.

Natural consequences of our own making can be dramatic and life-altering. We’re forced to pick up baggage we might never have had to carry, had we asked our Father which decision to make in the first place. But following our own lead (often an “expensive” process) can teach us quite effectively, too.

Recently my sister, brother, and I took a drive to Suicide Hill to see if kids were still enjoying the same kind of fun we’d known. Despite the winter weather, there was no ice on the hill. Actually, the whole area had been permanently fenced off from the public.

Trudging upThe only glare-ice hills today’s kids get to experience, I’m afraid, are on video games.

“There is hope for your future, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 31:17)

Snow Angels

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Remembering back to my first winter as a widow, 5 years ago:

Snowy bushesAs we watched a picture-perfect snowstorm out the window today, I was reminded of the snow-related care Nate put into action for our family. Before our teenage kids would drive away in a storm, he’d always check to be sure they had a snow scraper/brush in their cars, often brushing them off before they got out there. He would always clean my car off, and if his schedule allowed, would volunteer to drive me wherever I needed to go, if a storm was in progress.

Our extra-long driveway was a bear to shovel, but he did more than his share, and if he was short on time, he’d still shovel a path to each car door. He was faithful to check the windshield wiper fluid in the cars and to add more if needed.

We began thinking about buying a snow blower after shoveling that long driveway for 15 years. When a neighbor died and his widow offered to sell us his blower, Nate took her up on it. “But,” she said, “I’ll need someone to clear my driveway, too.”

That winter Nate began blowing snow off her driveway after every storm. He always did hers before ours, sometimes in his business suit and dress coat in the pre-dawn hours of a frigid weekday morning. Often he’d get hers finished but didn’t have time for ours, slipping and sliding away in his sedan on a rush to the commuter train.

I often think of Nate’s willingness to help this widow. Despite the major inconvenience of keeping her driveway clear, he never once complained about doing it. Since our neighbor had no one else to help her, he felt it was his duty to do so. The Bible says a great deal about widows, and God makes it clear he’s pleased with those who help them.

God was watching Nate blow the equivalent of mountains of snow off our friend’s driveway over the years, but I don’t believe Nate was ever aware of divine approval on those icy mornings. He was simply doing the right thing, which of course is often the hard thing.

Snow-pro neighborNow I find I’m the widow needing help. When the first big snowfall arrived, I was rummaging around in the basement for a snow shovel when I heard the delightful roar of a snow blower. Running upstairs, I saw our next-door-neighbor Bob, pink-cheeked and dodging clouds of flying snow, clearing off the driveway. When I ran outside to express my enthusiasm, he smiled and said, “Well, those of us with blowers should help those who don’t have them.”

I’ll never forget the rush of feelings that came to me then. I flashed back to Nate’s faithful work on our neighbor’s driveway, coupled with deep gratitude for my current neighbor and his cheerful willingness to help the widow next door.

”Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? Those who… do what is right… Those who refuse to… harm their neighbors… and those who keep their promises, even when it hurts.” (Psalm 15:1-4, TLB)