Winter sets in and reminds us to bundle our fragile bodies with arctic defying layers to protect our ever desired warmth. Oil furnaces start with a mighty puff. Lp and Natural gas furnaces start with a gentle woosh. Wood fires start with a strike of a match in the basements of so many homes. The heating season is on us like Groot on a laser light or a bouncing ball.
Last week we took a day trip, Drax and Groot stayed at the farm as they do so many days. Playing and “protecting” the chickens from the many predators desiring a quick chicken dinner. As we arrived back home I noticed something “out of the norm”… Groot wasn’t in his normal spot and Drax was unseen. As I maneuvered into the parking spot, parking with the precision of a blind air traffic ground crew. Still no Drax. I approach the house behind Al moving at lightning speed, on a mission to check and make sure his “stuff” in his room has not disintegrated into a vapor while he was gone for hours… I noticed a patch of blood, large, fresh and in the pattern of a paw… Two large pawed pups made the way into the house right behind Al.
I discover Drax has a gushing wound on his paw, he is breathing rapidly and very shallow, his gums are pale and he gently lays down in front of me as if to say, “you are not walking past me dad”… I squat down, seeing a pulse of blood oozing out, I move into doctor mode “JESS, GRAB A WRAP OF SOME TYPE, NOW!” After a year’s long wait Jess comes flying around the corner with a towel and I proceed to wrap up the paw… “Direct pressure” I exclaimed “I need to get changed into something more suitable, hold this for a minute while I get changed” In my super man mode I am able to pass though walls and floors into the bedroom where I find a quick change of clothes. Now it’s time for my assistant, “Jess, change into some grubbies…”
Slide the time line forward, Drax is fully recovered and no worse for the wear. What’s with this dog? Last year he chased a plow truck and got a broken paw and bruised lung… leading to the GPS collar (may I add, that’s literally been a life saver).
Job 37:6 Doing great things which we do not comprehend.
For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
Job37:9,10 From the south comes the storm,
And from the north wind the cold.
From the breath of God ice is made,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.
I thank God he protected our pup yet again this year as the winter descends like a howling wolf. It was about this same time last year Drax played tag with the plow… winter is a bit rougher in Itasca County than it was in Scott County. There is a side of appreciation to this winter wonder land. It tests a man, makes a man stop and think… God is so much bigger than our “issues” God determines the earth, spins it on its axis and draws the cold from the north, the heat from the south and measures the length of the days… He is in charge, and he is the one we lean on…
We praise God in the dark, in the light, in the sorrow, and in the Joy.
Today is Sam’s birthday, he has been sober and clean for 1,186 days… There is joy in this thought, even when we feel sad in our loss.
Join with me in remembering the young man I remember, Sam. How he always took time to help those less fortunate, those in need and those that didn’t fit in. His love and generosity are a guide post for us still today.
Are you feeling the winter blues? Come on, it’s too early for that. Being grumpy, upset and sad won’t change anything, but deciding to find the joy in everything sure makes things better.
Today, continue the thanksgiving and giving thanks from last Thursday, keep it in your heart the whole year and see what the Lord will do with that…
C.