Ice

Last weekend I was walking down the sidewalk, and a distinct thought came to mind.   'I am now a person who lives my life on the ice.' 

This is Minnesota.  The ice is still with us, a part of a cycle that we all know so well.  School is cancelled.  The salt doesn't work.  The temps are hovering around 0.  You can't see buildings from the road so you have to guess at the right turn when you're looking for some new place.  I am doing my very best to keep a good perspective going here.  Forever is just a feeling.  Soon it will be spring and then summer.    Life sails by, right?  Lots of this feels relative, right?  Right.   



When we drive we slip and slide across streets, hoping and praying that when we stop, the car will actually slow down and not go through intersections.  There's a way to do this you know, a way not to be an idiot in your winter driving skills.  But unfortunately too there's the terrible reality that you sometimes can't control any of it.  Instead, it's the adrenaline spike, the reality check that you might of just died.  And you face that, just a little, and feel gratitude for your spared life, and then decide to move on. 

Realizing afresh that we are lately alive in a world of ice stopped me in my tracks, and made me feel hearty.  It also made me feel insane and that I understood what people outside of Minnesota must think about us.

We have become a frozen people.  Everyone is shuffling along on ice, driving cars on ice, only going short distances unless we have to, watching for wind chill advisories like no body's business.  A month ago, when I bought more warm socks, it felt like the kindest thing I could do for myself.  It's the little things, after all.  

Lots of people I know are not happy about this weather and they feel like they're going to just about keel over.  They're tired, mundane, gray.  Truthfully, these people are kind of awful to be around.  I still love them, but the going is rough.  Some other people I know, despite this crazy treacherous winter think Minnesota is still a pretty great place to be. 

I'm somewhere in the middle. I am not thrilled by the gray thoughts of early March,  and sometimes I'm awful too, but overall I like it here.  I decided Minnesota was still pretty ok as I was parallel parking in the ice, tapping the brakes just so, then shuffling across the icy road to the icy sidewalk which would take me to church. 

But some part of that still felt insane.

The nice part of living like this, amidst so much waiting and holding out for spring, is that it also aligns with the sinner's heart.  We wait for God to tell us His story.  We know the big picture things, but each day there are those nuanced details.  There are distinct seasons.  That's what I feel quite often lately.  I feel like I'm listening for things, for a bigger story right in front of me, and the great iced over world I deal with caters to this posture in all kinds of ways. 

The world is silent, and for a time I am too. Frozen people like me are waiting.  And there it is, that distinct feeling again, that we are not going to be disappointed at all.