I'm not sure how to describe it, this feeling today had. I guess the best way is to say the day felt exactly like what it was...the day after a funeral.
I woke up this morning to bitterly cold temperatures outside. It was so cold that last night Heather and I boiled water, threw it up in the air outside and it never touched the ground. All that was left was plume of steam hanging in the air. The morning was no different, cold and a day that you would rather just stay in bed. School was even closed because it was too cold. But I got up knowing I had lots to do. I got in my car, turned it on and began to scrape the frost off the windshield. Now, in the past I have had some trouble with my tires. When it gets cold the seals don't hold and air leaks out and I noticed that this was the case in my front right tire (it's always my front right tire). It didn't look too bad and I thought I would make it to the gas station, fill it up and be on my way. I did make it to the gas station, however, I tried to fill it up but the tire was not taking air. This was not good. Here I was on the coldest day of the year, no, the past 5 years and I had a flat at the gas station. Great! I called my brother, Mari, and Heather but no one answered. So there I sat, worrying about what I was going to do.
It's times like these I really hate being an adult. I find myself crawling back to my adolescent self and wishing my Dad was there to take care of everything. He always had a level head. But not this time, I was on my own. Now, as a side note I have changed my tire before and am quite handy with car repairs, but you throw in -35 degree temps where bare skin can freeze in less than 10 minutes, and I start to worry and to put it mildly...freak out.
Well I had waited long enough and I thought I would at least try and fill the tire again. To my great surprise and relief the tire took the air! Praise God! I filled it up and checked the pressure. It was holding. I decided to head down the road to the next gas station and recheck the pressure. Still holding. It looked as though I was in the clear.
When I arrived at church I soon realized that the stress I had just put myself through completely drained any energy I had stored up during sleep last night. When Mari arrived she looked like she was also down in the dumps as well. I asked her what was up and she told me that the brother of a good friend of hers passed away last night. I'm pretty sure the last news you want after going through a tough emotionally draining day is finding out that someone closer to you has died. So Mari and I decided that this day would have been better if we had skipped it.
My last surprise came Wednesday Night. I didn't really realize that it was such a surprise until I thought about it a little more. My friend and youth volunteer Jackie, who is also a school teacher, told me that she received a call saying that she would, in spite of the cold, be having school tomorrow. I was bummed that she wasn't going to get a "cold" day (as opposed to a snow day) and it was her response that caught me off guard. She said that it was important for the school to remain open because it was warm and had food, which was more than most of the homes the kids come from can offer.
Wow, surprise. I drive by this school everyday. It is not far from where I live. To me it seems like the school is in a decent neighborhood. But Jackie knows, as do the people who go to school there, that the outside appearance doesn't always reflect what is going on at home. The school was serving a double purpose: education and learning and also shelter and life saver. The sad part is the kids can't stay there all day, they have to go home and possibly suffer through a very cold night.
It made me realize again what I learned on our mission trips this past summer. There are so many places that we think need help: the big city, the rural dying town. But there is also your home town that needs help. There are people everywhere that need help. Whether it is someone that is homeless on the street or someone who has a flat tire on the side of the road. If only were weren't farsighted when it comes to charity. I hope in the days to come I can look for places I can help.
Peace,
dain
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