More in the Glass Castle Series

Part of the Glass Castle series
 (The church is a warm shelter)

          “They don’t even look cold.”

          “Isn’Isn't that a marvel? And in this blizzard!” Makio pulled her cloak around her a little more snuggly. ‘Pleasure’ is supposed to be such a cool name brand, but I sure feel chilly. She stepped behind a tree so she wouldn’t be seen by the pilgrims passing by.  Shondelle did the same.

          “They aren’t even all bundled up like we are!” Shondelle whispered.

          “Shh! I don’t want them to know that we are observing them!”

          There was longing in their eyes as they watched a happy pair make their way up the steep incline to the Glass Castle with seeming ease.

          “As far as I could tell all they had on was those flimsy looking white robes, but they seemed warm enough. Even comfortable!” For some reason Makio’s eyes felt misty.

          Shondelle swallowed a lump in her throat before speaking. “I think the warmth comes from within them somehow. “

          Makio nodded; “And that’s why they radiate so. Look! They are coming from all directions! Look how they scale the steep cliff with such incredible ease. How do they do it? And why?“

          “Today is what they call ‘The Lord’s Day’. I think that means that their King will be in their midst and they all want to be there. They go out among us to labour, but on the first day of the week they all flock back--” she laughed, but it sounded sad, “To be recharged.” 

          “And they all look so beautiful in spite of the terrible weather conditions in the world around them.”

          “I wish I could go with them.” Makio’s voice throbbed with yearning.  (to be continued)      

Books by this author can be found @ prairieviewpress.com    and many other places

Cold Noses, Warm Smiles

WHEW! What a frigid day to be out and about! Who would have thought the temperature would have dropped that low by December seventh! I guess we ought to be a tiny bit thankful. Over in Manning, Alberta it went down to minus 59 degrees Celsius! Yes, you read that right, and I hope it didn’t make you shiver!  I’m glad it wasn’t quite that terrible in Edmonton, where we happened to be at the time, but it was bitter enough!! What a day for our Christmas Family Gathering! Before we could gather in the cozy warmth of the restaurant of our chose there was some last minute shopping to be done. Since West Edmonton Mall was close by it seemed like the logical place to head. Have you ever been there? Have you ever been to any mall when there are thousands of others streaming down the halls in both directions? Maybe you love it, but if you are a Country Girl like me you might have been a little bit overwhelmed except….back to the title.

               You could always spot the newcomers into the mall by That Chilled Look, but, okay, okay, I admit I’m smugly prejudiced, but it sure seemed like Canadians must be known for their warm smiles, if the crowd there was an accurate sampling of the rest of our country.

               As my husband and I meandered around looking for Gifts for the Grandchildren- (of course that was meant to be capitalized,) it was easy to exchange cheerful remarks with this one and that wherever we meant. This was special, but just wait---! Once, twice, no three times we meet people from our own church, who believe and fellowship just like we do. Did our faces light up? You bet they did! Did we know each other? Not a once. Did we stop and chat? If we were close enough. Were our hearts warmed? Sure. We are one in the bond of love. You know what? There’s room for you to. 

I Will Help You

It was dark. And cold and here we were skimming along the highway reaching 130kms per hour now and then. If you’re not metric please don’t look it up because I’m not bragging.. It’s just that we had places to go. Fast. The text messages had been coming in rapidly.  They started with this one.

“EMERGENCY. We locked ourselves out of the vehicle and the library closes at nine o’clock.” Well, when our daughters are in trouble we want to help. Of course. But they were nearly an hour away, depending on traffic and weather conditions. So we tried to give long distance instructions. Call AMA. Call a locksmith etc. etc.  One couldn’t get there for two or three hours.The library would be closed long before that kind of assistance arrived.  Leave our daughters standing out in the cold at night? Not a chance. Another company would do it to the tune of $130 dollars but it would be far cheaper for us to grab the spare key and go in ourselves.

        So that’s why we were rushing along the highway, passing all those big trucks, and just a humming along. Of course I was keeping my eyes open for those flashing red and blue lights, but had a feeling most police officers would have been sympathetic to our predicament. And I kept texting back and forth with one of the girls while my hubby drove. To comfort them. Ease that panicky feeling, you know.

Hurrying in to town was a good time to pray. And thank God. I was glad that the roads were dry. It would have been so much worse if they were slushy, or worse yet, black ice. And what if they had been snow blowing in our faces, blinding us as we tried to pass, which we probably wouldn’t have dared to do.

But my prayers were not only ones of thanksgiving. I pleaded with God to help the girls realise how much God loves them. How much an effort He takes to bring them back to safety. When the prodigal son was still a long ways off the Father ran out to meet him. Our daughters were far away, but we gladly came to help them in their distress. Oh that they would call out to their Heavenly Father and discover how willingly He would come to their spiritual rescue. We arrived while they were locking the doors. Their Heavenly Father will

come even if there are only minutes to spare, but I sure hope they won’t wait that long!

I thought of other prodigals also. There’s so many of them. Far too many. Oh, that they will also cry out to the Heavenly Father who will surely help them if they are sincere.

Maybe you know of someone in that situation. Maybe you are yourself. Pray, and pray some more. God hears and answers the earnest prayer. Amen.