Lessons from a Dusting of Snow

December 3, 2024

Beloved:
          Yesterday’s dusting of snow would have been more delightful had I not locked myself out of the house running out to the garage to fetch a new roll of paper towels.  I had on slippers and pajamas.  My phone was by my favorite chair.  Luckily my neighbor’s front door is 20 steps from mine.  I used her phone to call both daughters, both of whom don’t have a key to my house.  I called the locksmith* who guessed it would be forty-five minutes, but within thirty my daughter swung into my driveway, there to check on me.  She shoved my garage door not even very hard and to my alarm it popped right open into my laundry room.  Turns out the strike plate was badly bent and too far recessed into the door frame to hold the bolt securely.  The knob wouldn’t turn but the door itself wasn’t locked at all, nor has it been the whole two years I’ve lived here.  Yikes!  The locksmith fixed everything right up and made extra keys to give my daughters and my neighbor.  I also hid one in the garage.  All’s well that ends well, don’t you know.
          The lessons hang low here, the gift of good neighbors first of all. 
          ~ Showing up early and unannounced, sitting at her cozy kitchen table in our pajamas, I felt as welcome as I’ve ever felt anywhere.
          ~ Good daughters are gold, never to be taken for granted, especially the resourceful ones who think to do more than just turn the knob.  She came ready to break into the house depending on how cold I was.
          ~ Don’t panic right away  took me a while, years in fact.  Being locked out is an inconvenience, not an emergency as long as there is nothing on the stove or toddlers left alone.
          ~ Again and again, safety is an illusion.  I thought I was locked in tight and one push was all it took to get through the door.  We do our best and trust the keeper of our lives and life together to keep us cradled in the everlasting arms of God’s eternal peace.  Happiness turns to joy for me when I lean into the faith I claim; whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord.  (Romans 14:8)
          I pray you are being extra gentle with yourself in this hectic season, making time to reflect and worship.

~ peace & prayers,
pastor annette

          * If you are local and need a locksmith for anything, I cannot recommend J&S Locksmith highly enough.  They have done lots of work for me over the years and are especially un-judgy of a lady who locks herself outside in the snow wearing only her pajamas and slippers.  https://www.jslockandlawn.com/