With Winter entering a particularly brutal cold stretch with temperatures dropping into the low teens every night and only reaching the 20's during the day, our electric furnace stopped working. I spent all day trying to reach a repairman only to find that they were overwhelmed with people in similar circumstances and it would be 8 days before someone could arrive here. I quickly went to the local hardware store and bought two space heaters. By moving them from the living room during the day to the bedrooms at night we have stayed cool but comfortable so far. One thing this did do, however, was awaken some Winter memories of my own childhood.

I remembered as a boy waking up on winter days with the floor being ice cold, quickly pulling on thick socks, jeans, and a sweat shirt and going into the living room where a single wood stove heated the whole house. I remembered watching my dad add wood to the fire in it while we all huddled around it for warmth. I remembered walking outside in the bitter cold to grab an armful of wood from our shed and carrying it inside to refill our wood box with freezing fingers and frosty breath, shivering the whole way. It took so much more work just to stay warm back then, but somehow that made all of us appreciate the warmth even more.

I think maybe God took away my central heat for a bit to remind me of how precious warmth is not only in our homes but also in our hearts. This can be a very cold world at times and it is up to us to add our warmth to it. We need everyday to build up our own warmth within so that we can warm the hearts of others around us as well.

Allow God’s Love to warm you then even on the coldest days. And keep your own inner fire burning bright. Feed it kindling of kindness and logs of love every single day. Then your giving heart and loving life will become a stove that radiates warmth and brings joy to this world.