Good Saturday to you from the arctic north! Okay, it is only Iowa, but the bitter cold temperatures and wind chills are making it feel like we are a tiny bit farther north than Iowa! Comparing our -20 wind chills this morning to Canada's -77 wind chills puts it all into perspective, though! Thursday we had a blizzard warning with high winds bringing in the cold and 4-5 inches of fresh snow. Looks like the cold will be staying around for a few days and this morning as I write this, it is snowing once again. It all makes me extra grateful for a warm house with a fireplace that turns on at the push of a button. How blessed we are!
It has been a quiet week here, with no doctor appointments in sight. We made a short visit to Target to stock up on fresh fruits, veggies, and prescriptions, and Joel visited HyVee grocery, otherwise we have snuggled in here with phone call visits to a few grands, kids, a celebrating grandson, a childhood friend, and my sister Jan as we wished her Happy Birthday. Joel is also filling in at Bethany and her family's church in Wisconsin with a virtual sermon for tomorrow. He has not preached in 14 months and has never recorded a sermon to be used hours away from here. It was an adventure in hands-on learning. Guess we are never too old to learn something new!
Speaking of, I have been writing some again with the hope of putting together a book. It has me looking back at our life, reminiscing about our first years together. We were so young when we married, so lacking money, and so naive but eager for new adventures. Uncle Sam came into the picture with a draft notice just a few weeks after we were married so Joel joined the Air Force to avoid what the army would mean for him, and headed to Texas for basic training. Then the two of us went to Illinois where he had 9 months of training before he was sent to Albuquerque NM to work on planes that checked for radioactive particles in the air. The first year of our marriage involved 4 moves, saying good-bye to everything familiar, and eating way to many meals of rice with milk, sugar and cinnamon, and tasty (?) pot pies. We ate so many of those on Joel's meager Airman's salary that I haven't been able to look at one for quite a few years! Ha.....We were often digging through the car seats hoping to find a quarter for a loaf of bread. Yes, we are that old! What I remember about those months was how often God provided for us just when we needed it. We were even able to buy a used black and white TV for $25. We had to make $5 payments on it, but it was ours! Now, when I look across the room at our big "smart TV", it is humbling. We definitely are blessed with more than what we need.
Is anyone else challenged by the process to getting a vaccination? We are connected to a great system called CodeRed that alerts us when shots are available. You then go to a website and sign up for an open appointment slot. The first time there were 200 doses available. Our county has 44,000 people. I followed the rules and clicked on exactly at the time given to sign in, and all slots were filled! This time there will be 1400 available for seniors over 65. There are thousands of seniors in our county, in Iowa for that matter! Iowa ranks 47th for the number of doses sent to states. What is up with that? Some of my family is starting to get shots.....My 80 + sister and brother-in-law are having to drive 40 minutes away from their place in busy Phoenix to get vaccinated. I know they are just grateful they got an appointment. Not everyone will get the vaccination ~ each to their own thinking~ but for me, after talking to the Mayo doctor, I will attempt it. I have never had the pneumonia, flu, or shingles vaccinations, but this one? It seems like the best way for me to go.
As I look across the room I see a pillow our daughter N. and her family gave us for Christmas. It is a beautiful soft plaid with the word "gather" stitched on it. I look at it every day and pray for the time when our family can gather together once again. It has been too long and life is too short. Gather......we are really created to gather....and we are not the only ones. Geese gather, ducks, sheep gather, yeah most animals have the instinct to gather. So do humans. Our souls hunger for that connection....that in person connection that seems to reach down into the depths of our souls and fill us up. We were created for relationships, with God and with each other. I physically ache to hug on our family again, to hear them laugh, watch them play cribbage or catch up with each other's lives. I am very grateful for Zoom and Facetime, Skype, etc. texting, phone calls, etc. but nothing beats a long flesh on flesh, face to face hug. I so look forward to it. This past year we have also grieved the death of friends and family. Friends from the present and from the past ~ Steve, Roger, Allen, Orvis, and in family ~our dear Gr. Jo. Part of the hope we have is in knowing we will gather together again with them too!
So, today I am grateful for a Heavenly gathering to come, for earthly gatherings with family and friends, phone calls, fireplaces, virtual preaching, Jan's birthday, a grandson's 13th, vaccinations to come, a pillow that reminds me that better days are ahead, and so much more........
Enjoy your weekend!
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