Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Everyone knows that there's not much I enjoy more than planning a special occasion.

This is the one special occasion I never wanted to plan, the one invitation I never wanted to issue:

It is with a heavy heart that Nilgiris Tea House announces we will be closing weekend operations at the end of July. (We are still available for private functions and special events; email cleosriver@yahoo.ca.)

All our friends who care for and patronize the TH

are invited to a come-and-go farewell tea 

on Sunday, July 27, 3 - 6 pm

We thank you for your patronage, friendship and many kindnesses. We have loved serving the community that has developed in the TH over the past 11 years. We will miss you deeply.

The morning I finally came to the conclusion that this is the way God is leading me, I felt desolate. The sky was thundering, scowling at me as I peered out of my bedroom window overlooking the park.

I tearfully made my way down the 16 steps to the TH. After half an hour or so of busyness in the kitchen, I walked into the dining room. I opened the front door, and I was greeted with this:

  

A double rainbow - Mum's sign of God's promise and care - beamed over the park across from Nilgiris!

It was 6:15 in the morning.

God has plans for me, and He has plans for this little TH that we all have grown to love. We don't know what His plans are right now, but we do know that His wisdom is staggering in its depth, and His love has no limit.

Great is His faithfulness.

Here Comes the Sun

Images this morning as I returned from picking up my car where I had left it yesterday afternoon in order to drive with my friends to Red Deer:

White-out!

We had been at the Red Deer Rebels hockey game on Friday night. We got on the road and discovered wind flailing the snow until it was tumultuous.

Three of us wanted to turn back and stay in Red Deer. But the driver felt we needed to keep going, that there was a reason ... We stopped at every vehicle that had hit the ditch, ensuring that there was no one inside; the reason we were not there ourselves was that there were three of us navigating between the bumpy yellow centre line and the suddenly wavy outer white lines - on both sides of the highway. 

 We had just passed a little town called Huxley when we encountered a complete white-out. With our hazard lights on, we sat in the middle of the highway for a few moments until the wind died down somewhat and we could inch our way forward again. 

Suddenly: "Are those footprints?!" and a few yards up ahead there was the bobbing figure of someone walking on the side of the road. We picked him up. His truck had swerved all over the road before coming to rest, stuck at the side. He had no cell phone and had running shoes on his feet and a Red Deer Rebels cap on his head. He was trying to get to Trochu, where he lived. He had about eight miles to go, and he was pretty frozen and somewhat disoriented. 

We drove him to his home: his wife was sitting in the semi-dark next to their front window. And then we pulled wearily back onto the highway for the last 15 kms to Three Hills. 

What if we had stayed in Red Deer and that man had been struck by a vehicle in one of those white-out spells or had wandered off into a drift himself? We ourselves made it safely to Three Hills, three hours after we had set out from Red Deer. I am so grateful that our driver didn't listen to the majority vote and listened instead to the "still small voice" in the middle of the storm compelling him to carry on. God moves in mysterious - sometimes terrifying - ways!

And we, all four of us, are so grateful.

Three Hills, AB

Three Hills, AB

BLOWING SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT

WIND WARNING ENDED

Current Conditions




-18°C

• °C
• °F

Observed at:

Three Hills

Date:

12:00 AM MST Saturday 28 December 2013

Condition:

Not observed

Temperature:

-17.6°C

Dewpoint:

-19.5°C

Humidity:

85%

Wind:

NNW 51 km/h

Wind Chill:

-32

Forecast

Graphic forecast

Fri
27 Dec




• 60%
•  
• -19°C

Sat
28 Dec




• 60%
• -15°C
•  

Sun
29 Dec




•  
• -8°C
• -21°C

Mon
30 Dec




• 60%
• -12°C
• -14°C

Tue
31 Dec




•  
• -7°C
• -17°C

Wed
1 Jan




•  
• -4°C
• -10°C

Thu
2 Jan




•  
• 5°C
• -9°C

Detailed forecast

Issued: 1:33 AM MST Saturday 28 December 2013

Blowing snow warning in effect.

Tonight

Snow ending overnight then mainly cloudy with 60 percent chance of flurries. Amount 5 to 10 cm. Blowing snow with visibilities frequently less than 1 kilometre. Wind north 50 km/h gusting to 70 diminishing to 30 gusting to 50 overnight. Low minus 19. Wind chill minus 27.

Saturday

Mainly cloudy with 60 percent chance of flurries. Local blowing snow early in the morning. Wind north 30 km/h gusting to 50 becoming light in the morning. High minus 15. Wind chill minus 31 in the morning.

So This is What the Mayor and his Wife Do in their Spare Time ...

What a dreadful snowfall: heavy, thick, slushy, settling in gleefully for an early winter.

Dad was due to preach in Hanna today; but when he spoke on the telephone with the service leader at 8:30 this morning, the man told him not to come: the roads were impassable and it would be too dangerous.

I faced the TH's crazy parking lot with nothing but a shovel and desperation this afternoon. After working on it for over an hour and a half, I was half done. But my shoulders and my calves told me that, actually, they were done. Plus the rice pudding for my friend Barb's lunch was trying in vain to cook without my encouragement the longer I was outside.

Still, it was a beautiful day.

Still, I was in despair at how much left there was to do.

Finally, at about 2:45, with half left to go, I simply asked God if someone - ANY one - in the trucks and cars passing my way would take pity on me and give me a hand.

Literally, no sooner than the words were out of my mouth than Terry pulled up, rolled down her truck window and said something to me. I couldn't hear a word above the snow blower that the neighbour across the road - who had been keeping an eye on me shoveling the hefty gobs of snow since I started - was running on his tiny driveway and stretch of sidewalk. So Terry pulled over, got out of her truck, and said, "Tim is on his way with our snow blower to do Mom and Dad's driveway. Let him finish yours for you. Here: give me your shovel and I'll take a turn at this for you."

Seriously? Tim was less than half a block away! Before I had finished my little cry / rant to God, His answer was walking toward me, and the herald of the message was already taking the shovel out of my hand! The words from the prophet Isaiah, "Before you call, I will answer,"  hit me right on the forehead. There was nothing else for me to do out there. I went inside and took an Advil, and then got cracking on my rice pudding.

Between the two of them, they got rid of the snow and ice before the TH doors opened at 3:00. All that remained for me was to throw some of those blue salt crystal things on the ground and hope that no one slipped ... 

Thank you, Your Worship. And thank you, Terry, who ably supports him in everything he does! It is no wonder that under his leadership the entire Three Hills Mayor and Council were acclaimed at this past election time. I have never met anyone more community minded than Tim Shearlaw. 

And thank You, God, for caring about the little things.

The Final Thank You for October

Judging from the number of posts, I am not very thankful! Quite the contrary - my heart has been brimming with gratitude this month more than most. God has been so good to me; my family has been so dear; friends have sustained me. I just haven't had the time.

One of my favourite days of this whole month was Thanksgiving Day itself, so I'm going to leave this season of gratitude with some pictures, accompanied by the words to our dear friend Martha Wunsch's favourite song:

How good is the God we adore

Our faithful, unchangeable friend

Whose love is as great as His power

And knows neither measure nor end!

'Tis Jesus, the First and the Last,

Whose spirit shall guide us safe home

We'll praise Him for all that is past

And trust Him for all that's to come!

Happy Thanksgiving Month, everyone!