What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Friday, October 24, 2008

Warm Thanks



The gnarled, bony fingerlimbs of old October grasp and play with the silver specks of the moon orb, becoming more and more exposed as the thieving Autumn winds snatch her ruby and gold adornments. Lady October never notices, you see, because Autumn winds are cunning.

So cunning, that I too have been tricked. Michevious Autumn stole from the day its warming breeze and mild nights, without even an upward glance from me.

Two nights ago, in the wee dark hours of morning, Matt stirred and awoke abruptly-and trudged downstairs. I groaned, rolling self and swollen baby belly to squint unbelievingly at the alarm clock. I hadn't HEARD the alarm. Could it be time to rise so soon? But bright red numbers stung my eyes as I read 3:00. Still a *few* hours, but where had Matt gone?

Later I found out: the furnace had begun to run but wasn't producing heat. The oil tank gave an offensive ting-echo when tapped, telling the truth that had alluded us up until this point, that it has been dangerously low when we moved in-and now, sat empty. Try though it did, no warmth was it giving.

Our hope had been to buy/install a wood furnace this year but for several reasons, we have resigned ourselves to wait. Wait until next fall, for the lovely crackle of burning wood and the satisfaction of warmth even while on the other side of glass panes, blustery winds bit at its victims.

So oil must be our friend for another year, dependent are we upon its kindnesses.

But the oil man can not fill the handicapped tank until Monday afternoon...nearly a week after we discovered our problem.

So days have been spent watching the thermostat drop lower and lower, each morning a bit more offensively, until this morning it had dropped to 49.

*sigh*

Three and a half more days to go....

Like dragons, steam billows from our mouths as we chew, speak, breathe.

Noses and cheeks gleam pink and red, even while staying inside.

Socks and slippers are worn, robes donned in morningtime, and sweaters the rest of the day.

Shivers attack us at the most inopportune times, and we laugh at their spontenaity.

Even still, there is much to be thankful for, and setting our hearts on these things will help to warm from within.

WHAT could I possibly be thankful for as my (and my childrens') patooties freeze each day?


~ For the splendid warmth of hot cocoa running down our throats, with whipped cream. Because we deserve it.

~ For flannel sheets, that sheild us from sheet-shock as we climb into bed.

~ For footed, flannel PJ's for the children to snuggle into each night.

~For Corynn's down comforter and Andrew's military poncho, for afghans and quilts. Sleeping is cozy and sweet, made more sweet for me, finding comfort that our little ones are comfortable.

~ That this sudden heatstrike has happened BEFORE Bunkin is born, and that it will be resolved before Bunkin's arrival home.

~ For the tangled legs of Mama and Papa, entwined together the whole night long, finding comfort in the smooth or roughness of the other.

~ For bodies melding, arms tucked snug around the bodies of the other, cuddles that last the whole night through, in hopes to create and share warmth.

~ For yesterday, a day of sunshine and warmth that, when windows were opened, graciously visited our walls within and raised the thermostat up a bit.

~for it's happening in FALL, not mid-winter.

~ For a working stove and oven, so food can fill our bodies and the warmth of its cooking can spill into the kitchen and home.

~ For the cuteness of children wearing hats indoors and made thick with layers.

~ For the glimmer of eyes, despite red nose and lips silent of complaint.

~ For more motivation to work harder and snuggle longer.



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9 comments:

Full of Grace said...

Please come and warm yourselves at our home! You are MORE THAN WELCOME!!! I hope you can come on Sunday for dinner, and you are welcome to come to visit tomorrow as well if you like! No reason for cold toes and noses when your sister has a home so close that is a tad warmer!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Rebecca,

I want to thank you for your very kind and gracious comments on my blog and my daughters. What a joy for us all. I have been where you have been. I was not raised in a Christian home either, was saved when I was pregnant with Breezy and had a ton to learn. My husband was saved 3 1/2 years later. The Lord changed our lives dramatically and we praise Him for it daily. I can say that we too, read everything we could get our hands on and soaked up knowledge from the Bible and godly speakers and writers. While we are older now and have some experience behind us, we still feel like we are always learning. God is definitely still at work changing us.

I really enjoyed reading your post about trying to stay warm. We just had a new boiler put in by a friend who was working on it when he had time. Since he does this kind of work full time, he was incredibly busy at this time of year and it took three weeks to get the time to finish it up. So early Friday morning at 2 am we had our first warm air radiating from our big old radiators. Oh, it is a good feeling. Another thing that helped us was using rice bags. Homemade bags filled with rice and heated in the microwave for warmth, excellent for cold toes and fingers.

I hope you have a beautiful day!
~Robin

Tracy said...

I love your positive spin on things, Rebecca!

Grandma Bibby said...

Thank the Lord it is not the dead of winter when your tank ran dry. Do go see your sister. It is difficult to do anything while being cold. You turn things into adventures, so I am sure you are doing this once again. Soon you will be warm (and maybe for less money with prices going down).

Andie said...

BRRRR! I'm glad you can find good things about it!
Blessings and warmth...
Andie

Mom2fur said...

You poor little frozen things! I hope you get that heat back, soon! If there's any consolation, the cost has come down quite a bit. My most recent bill was almost half what it was six months ago.

Els said...

Dear Rebecca,

We've moved house as well! For us it meant 3 months off-line.....
We've got our woodstove, but not connected yet. And we've got snow!
Kids are happy, I'm ever so thankfull for my Cornellsweatshirt and CV. Will update our website with pictures soon.
It's good to be back online, and get updates on you and the family. We still look back to our happy memories of visiting you in PA, and your mum and dad and opa and oma. Have read about them on Elizabeth's blog as well. We keep them and your family in our prayers.
And now it's time for a warming adventure. All the best!
Lots of love from Els

Rebecca said...

My GOODNESS! 'Tis the season for moving, I guess! Els~ it is SO good to hear from you! I admit to wondering where you dropped off to, and yearning for an update! A woodstove, eh? I'll try not to covet...I'll try not to pine away...

So thankful that you are in a good spot (though still unclear where that might be!) and looking forward to an update! Welcome to your new home!

Abigail said...

I seem to remember a post a while back in which you lamented your lacking ability to take a good picture of the moon...

Ha! This is an incredible picture. I love it.