Hey Gang, hope you had a wonderful holiday season and had the opportunity to receive the blessing of giving someone a gift of joy, maybe a hug, a little visit, or something on that order. The gift of ‘self’ doesn’t cost anything but can be the most joyful gift of all.
My sincere apologies for not getting the December column out; no excuses, but perhaps you will permit me an explanation.
Christmas at ‘Grandma Pat’s house was scheduled for the 22nd and I expected about 35 to 40 people for dinner. Two weeks before that, my computer went ‘ka-pluie’ (only God and a genius computer person would know what happened to it); then the toilet wouldn’t flush (think about it, 40 people and no toilet); next the furnace quit working (remember how cold it was); the day before the dinner, my granddaughter Kym Martin was in a seven-car pile-up on Nelson Road.
I am happy to be able to truthfully tell you, I didn’t panic and didn’t cancel the event (the one big event I really host all year and I start planning next year’s the day after) but trusted the Lord to take care of it.
Resolution: Sons Mike and Sam came over and dug up the sewer pipe (naturally it was one of those days that was 18 degrees with a gale force wind of 50 miles an hour blowing. I did have enough sense not to get close enough to hear their conversation as they dug up the frozen ground. I doubt it could be repeated in Sunday School); the line was completely clogged with roots from a big shade tree (now anyone that knows me at all, knows that I would rather dig an outhouse before cutting down a good tree . . . and to their credit, they didn’t even suggest it – at least not out loud). They had to dig a new channel, install a new pipe, and put it back together – success, the toilet works.
Sam worked on the furnace and got it working again (something about ‘contacts’ or ‘points’ or something like that), now we were up to a toilet and heat – things were improving.