Ice Dams

As my cousin prepared to leave her house for the year, we walked through a document of information on how to care for various parts of the house.  Some pieces of information were seasonal--what to do when it starts to snow or when everything starts to thaw.  I was told to watch the amount of snow on the roof and be aware of ice dams.

It's an understatment to say that we've had a lot of snow already this year.  There are multiple feet of snow piled on the corners and everywhere possible.  Mailboxes are just barely visible.  As I drove in and out of the garage, it looked like a lot of snow on the roof, but I didn't stop to calculate how much was probably resting there.

Last week, as I sat ensconed in warmth inside my house, preparing for Christmas I heard a soft new noise, kind of like dripping.  It's not the first time I've been startled to hear a new noise in my house, so I didn't feel too concerned (first problem).  As I finished packing, I figured I better identify where the noise was coming from before leaving for a few days.

As I walked around the front entry, I found that the noise was coming from the front door, where it was leaking in the house---not a good sign.  I called my parents, asking for their help over the phone and then went up on the roof to investigate.  To even get up on the roof, I had to clear a bunch of snow from the balacony and garage roof.  I then created a path up the roof toward the front entry area--no real fear of falling since there was probably 1-2 feet of snow covering the entire roof, preventing sliding.  So, to fast forward just a bit...my father and I spent around 24 'man-hours' on the roof, clearning the snow, chopping at some icy areas, installing heat tapes, and putting salt on the ice. I was so thankful to have his help!

As I look back, I wish I had better known how to prevent the problem.  I wish I had seen the ice building up and recognized it as the ice dam it was, creating problems inside the house.

I had all the information I needed.  I was told to watch for ice dams, and I was watching.  I just didn't know how to identify an ice dam.  I knew I needed to avoid them, but didn't know how to recognize them. My watching was kind of pointless.

I fear sometimes that's how I live my spiritual life.  I know I need to watch out for the attacks of the devil.  He's cunning and is seeking to destroy followers of Christ.  I know that he is the father of lies.  And yet, as I try to stand guard and be prepared, I don't always know how to identify his attacks. 

Just like others driving by my house probably easily recognized the ice dam forming on the front of my house, others often see attacks in my life for what they are before I understand.  That's why we need each other.  We help each other do the work of standing guard and of dismantling the ice dams (attacks of the enemy).  Alone the task feels daunting and impossible, but in community, our enemy doesn't stand a chance!

I pray that God will continue to open my eyes to be prepared and stand strong against satan.  I pray that he will enable me to stand beside my brothers and sisters and lovingly encourage and support them.  What will you do?

White as Snow

I recently wrote the following in an email update:

It’s been wonderful to be in Minnesota this winter to enjoy the brilliant white snow (and family, new friends, and so many other wonderful blessings!). During the big snowfall (8 inches) last week I was with my sister and her family in Hutchinson, MN. As it began to snow shortly before lunch, I wondered how long it would take until the grass was no longer visible. It took only a few hours. As we went out to play in the snow later that afternoon after snow blowing the driveway, I marveled at the incredible beauty of the snow. My drive back to the Twin Cities was incredibly beautiful. I wondered at how the landscape had been transformed.


Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.


With such a perfect picture of the pure whiteness of snow, I found myself meditating on the incredible gift of forgiveness. I pictured my sins like the blades of grass. They stuck up, completely visible, before the snow began falling. The snow covered them in such a way that they were no longer visible. How wonderful to imagine! But even greater is that not only are our sins forgiven and cleansed, we don’t ever have to worry about them again. Unlike the grass that will certainly be visible with the coming of spring, we don’t have to worry that God is going to bring up sins he’s already forgiven. They’re cleansed, taken care of, for good. Wow! What amazing grace!


May God continue to draw us nearer to himself. May we be quick to seek his forgiveness and the forgiveness of others. May we live in the security that our sins have been made white as snow…not by our own effort, but through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf.

As a snowstorm hit Minnesota this past weekend dumping 16-20 inches of snow on the area, it was amazing to continue to reflect on this idea.  The 'whiteness' of the snow is overwhelming at times--there's so much of it!  It's being trucked out of the city and off the roads. 
 
It is neat to picture Christ 'dumping' his righteousness on us (not trying to take lightly that incredible gift), in such amounts that we can't question whether our sins have been forgiven.  They're removed, forever...with pure whiteness, holiness.  Whoa!

Combustion

I love living in a house with a fireplace!  It's wonderful to curl up on the couch in the afternoons/evenings to enjoy a good book or get some school work done while enjoying the comfort of a fire. 

As I sat watching the fire the other night, it occurred to me that the logs are never coming back out of the fire. There isn't anything that can be done to take the ashes from the fire and somehow recreate the logs for the next fire.  They've undergone a change and because it was a chemical change, it can never be undone.

Hebrews 11:28-29
Therefore, since we are receving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverance and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire".

What an incredible thought!  God is a consuming fire.  If I think about it, we are to be changed when we're in the presence of God.  It is my dear hope that the time I spend in God's presence deeply affects me, at the core and very being of who I am.  I hope and pray that I am so changed that I am unable to return to the woman I once was.  I want to be radically different.  Perhaps it won't always be visible on the outside, but I want there to be a difference.  This change isn't something that I can somehow drum up or create on my own.  It comes only by being in the presence of a holy and loving God.

How is God changing you?

God, I pray that you would radically change my heart and mind, that I would allow you complete access to my life.  I pray that I would be changed in such a way that I would be unable to return to what once was.  Please draw me closer to you.