cold

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Varying Temperature

We know that temperature varies from place to place, but 20° Celsius isn’t even the same across the country.

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When you hear what the temperature is somewhere else, you immediately interpret it as what it would feel like where you are presently.

Of course, this leads to either jealousy or boasting. We either wish we had the temperature in that other city or we proudly admire the great temperature we have.

I was recently in Calgary for a conference and when I flew out of Toronto it was quite warm. When I got to Calgary, it was a little overcast and cooler.

The next day, however, was going to be around 20 C so I dressed appropriately for what 20 C would be back home in Ontario.

What I found, though, was I could have worn a light spring coat and been perfectly comfortable. It’s not that I was cold, but it wasn’t warm either.

The next day I wore shorts. It was supposed to be warmer and, though I was not chilly wearing shorts, I could have been slightly more comfortable in long pants. Choosing my attire based solely on the temperature, I should have been very comfortable.

Just before I was leaving Calgary, I stopped to grab lunch at a fast food restaurant. I placed my order, and while waiting, saw a young guy come in rather exhausted.

He said to me, “Man, is it ever hot out there!” I could tell he wasn’t kidding. The temperature had risen to about 24 C, but he seemed like he wasn’t going to make it through the day if he didn’t get some kind of relief.

He ordered water.

That’s it! It was like if he didn’t get water right then, he couldn’t go on. Fortunately, the place had lots of water and it seemed he had enough change in his pocket to pay for it.

I was ready if he had been short a few coins; I would have chipped in for the guy. He seemed a little desperate.

After I finished my meal in the comfort of the air conditioned restaurant, I prepared to head out into the blistering heat.

I thought maybe I should order a bottle of water to go in case I collapsed before I reached my rental car. … I simply took my chances.

Outside the restaurant the temperature was nice. I wasn’t sweating and I certainly didn’t feel the heat of the sun beating down on me.

I thought about the young guy inside and wondered how he would do in the same temperature in Toronto. He may have needed two bottles of water – one to carry in case it was a long distance between watering holes.

When I got into Toronto at 9:30 pm that night, it was about 19 C. It felt about the same temperature as it had in Calgary at midday with the sun shining down on us.

Someone pointed out to me that in the winter -10 C in Toronto feels a lot more severe than -10 C in Calgary. I guess it’s all relative.

Here’s the thing: In life we deal with the same circumstances in different ways. We have different thresholds for what we experience. Aren’t you glad that God is personal and deals with you, helps you, listens to you, responds to you, not according to the degree of the issue, but based on how it feels to you?

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What issues cause “severe temperatures” for you? Leave your comments below.

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I Would Like To Blame Someone For The Weather

We like to blame people when the weather is not as we would like it to be. When it’s rainy, and someone has just flown in from somewhere, we say he has brought the bad weather with him.

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We don’t blame cloud formations or weather streams from the north. We blame people … like the weather man. We wouldn’t be satisfied if the weather man was 100 percent accurate while we were experiencing frosty weather.

We would look for someone else to blame.

So here’s my problem … I just got home from a week in Mexico, where the temperature was about 30 Celsius day and night … and I’ve come home to single digit degrees! People here can’t blame me for the cool weather, but I’m sure looking for someone to get all snarly with.

Every morning it’s been minus one when I’ve gotten up and it takes most of the morning to rise above 5 Celsius.

I had a real frozen awakening my first day back in the office. I’m sure it was colder in my office than it was outside! Unfortunately, since I had turned the furnace off before I left on vacation, I really don’t have anyone to blame for my office temperature other than myself.

I haven’t checked the extended forecast because down south it was the same temperature all day every day, and I got used to walking around in a bathing suit.

It was nice … my wife, Lily, never once asked me what the weather was like outside. At home, when she is getting ready for the day, she always asks what the temperature is. Right now the answer is the same every day: cold.

When we got back, I had a sun tan. Actually, I singed myself a little playing beach volleyball a couple of days. But a day or two back in the land of “We the North” and I’m as pale as I was before I left.

I thought I might have a head start on a summer tan, but now I’m afraid I will have to start all over again.

I just can’t figure out who I can blame for this cold weather. Blaming “global warming” doesn’t really do it for me; it’s not personal. I want someone to feel bad, or at least feel like they are on the hook for the weather I’m experiencing.

I would blame our western provinces since our weather usually comes from there. But they’ve been experiencing some nice temperatures; they’re out.

I’m really at a loss of who I’m going to blame. I might have to resort to the guy who does the weather on Channel 11. I don’t like his attitude in giving us the forecast. I don’t watch him much, but why would I? … He’s responsible for the rotten weather we’re experiencing.

Here’s the thing: We like to put the blame for our sin somewhere else. We might think someone else enticed us, or that the devil is to blame, or that our circumstances are at fault. When we do that, however, we fail to take the proper responsibility for our own sin. Don’t blame others; take a firm look at your own contribution to sin. Then you will be ready to fully confess it before God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you tend to blame for the sin in your life? Leave your comment below.

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Don’t Be A Whiner!

Let’s not be whiners. I know there is a great temptation to be one because of the weather, but let’s suck it up. Let’s be brave and face the cold – let’s be Canadian!

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I think global warming is having some serious negative effects all over the world. One of those negatives is convincing Canadians our positional latitude is quite a few degrees lower than it really is.

We don’t live in North Carolina, people! When we get a blast of winter’s harshest, we shouldn’t get all whiny and complaining and stay indoors until spring. We live in the North – period.

Yesterday was an Alberta-like winter day in Kingston, Ontario. By that I mean that the sky was blue, the sun was shining, the snow was glistening and it was -25 Celsius outside.

I heard people complaining about the cold. But listen, we’ve only had 3 days of it! By tomorrow the temperature will be in the single digits and by next week we will be basking in temperatures up above zero.

This has been an easy winter so far; let’s not complain about a few really cold days. You see, the good thing is that we know what cold is like and we have appropriate clothing in our closets to keep us warm through it all.

We don’t need to stay indoors and huddle under blanks while we bemoan the fact that it’s freezing outside.

Let’s just be Canadians and keep going. Let’s act like nothing is special about this weather.

After all, with the memories of the last two winters still fresh in our minds, we’ve got to be smiling from ear to ear every morning when we get out of bed.

I shovelled more snow in one week last year than I have in total so far this season.

I realize that this can be confusing for some of us. Hey, it even confused the various groundhogs in Canada and the USA. They didn’t agree on whether we will have six more weeks of winter or whether it will wrap up quickly.

The way I look at it, we really haven’t had much of a winter. I’m a little sorry that I put my snow tires on this year because they hardly had any snow to perform on.

Still, there are people who aren’t happy with the first sign of winter … even if that first sign is in the middle of February.

These are the people who stay indoors, and feel that it’s too cold to go outside, knowing full well that they will get into a car and only have to walk a few steps until they’re inside a building again.

No, they would rather stay home and watch the movie, “Frozen” on TV. That way they can get their fill of the cold and ice and never have to leave the warmth of their family room.

Let’s not give in to that mindset. Let’s live and live up to what it means to be Canadian.

We are hardy, adventurous … we’re crazy Canucks!

Here’s the thing: It’s pretty easy to get used to life when it is good. Then when we go through difficult times, we act like we’ve never experienced them before. Life is filled with good and bad,  easy and hard. Trust God in it all. Lean on Him when it is difficult and keep living, not complaining.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you found this winter so far? Leave your comment below.

 

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How You Can Tell It’s Really Fall

Go ahead, say it, it’s officially fall. The weather has turned colder, we’ve lost the humidity, and I got my first cold.

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I was really hoping for summer weather to last right through to the end of October, but sadly the air has a feel of fall to it. Even on warm days, it’s a fall warm and not a summer sizzle.

Temperatures through the night dip a lot lower now. It’s brisk out when I’m leaving for work in the morning. The thermometer gets a bigger workout at this time of year with all its ups and downs. The weather is more unpredictable.

Conditions outside are one thing, what concerns me most is the condition of my body. I could blame it on the weather with its hot and cold effect, or I could blame it on some late nights and not getting the rest I need.

But I’m going to blame it on my wife! Lil has been saying she thinks she’s getting a cold for the last few days.

It’s hard for her to tell at this time of the year because she has some killer allergies that really put a strain on our Kleenex supply in the house.

But there were a few signs like the body aches and the congestion that gave it away.  Unfortunately for me, I didn’t know soon enough because I’m pretty good at staying clear when she’s under the weather.

That’s right, I’m not the greatest nurse in the world. My policy is if you’re sick, you’re on your own and it’s your responsibility to keep a distance of several feet from me.

I know you are probably thinking that I have a double standard when it comes to sickness, but I don’t. I don’t want people hovering around me; I don’t want anyone trying to give me special treatment either.

My motto while I’m sick is, “Leave me alone and stay clear”.

I’m having a little easier time living up to my motto today because Lil is away right now and I’m alone. There isn’t anyone around to stay clear from; there’s no one to offer special treatment.

Though I want to be left alone when I’m sick, I don’t like the fact that she took off after infecting me with her disease.

But there is nothing I can do. I have to accept the fact that I’m sick and I need to ride it out or try to do something about it.

My son has a cold busting solution that he uses, called the Cold FX bomb. It’s about a three day cycle of pumping your body with various doses of Cold FX medicine.

I don’t like drugs. What works for me is to sweat it out. I’ve got rid of a cold in one day with this method. And today is perfect – I have a day off, and I’ll be going to the hockey rink for a little pick up.

I’l wear a few extra layers under my equipment and hopefully, by the end of the game, the aches will be gone and tomorrow I’ll be a brand new man.

Here’s the thing: There are many things in life that can negatively influence us towards God. We need to be vigilant to keep ourselves away from them. But when we slip and recognize that we have been influenced negatively, we need to take bold steps to rid that influence from our lives. Today I read Psalm 119:7. The message was this: Keep an upright heart before God while you learn your righteousness … Good to keep in mind.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are the influences you have to keep an eye out for? Leave your comment below.

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It’s Spring and I’m Sick Already

I hate getting sick; I really hate getting sick in the spring. When the weather starts to warm up and there is more to do outside, that’s when being sick is the worst.

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If it’s cold out, you don’t want to go outside anyway – that’s the time to be sick. You’re going to be inside, so what does it matter if you’re wearing jeans and a sweatshirt or a few layers of clothing and a heavy blanket?

No one is going to see you anyway; they are all at home too, unwilling to go out in the cold.

But you can’t live like that when it’s nice outside, and you certainly don’t want to live that way when it’s warm out. Every time you go by a window you wish you felt better so you weren’t stuck inside.

I don’t like admitting it, but I think I’ve come down with a cold or something. All week I’ve had this dry cold; there’s been a catch in my throat that makes me bark. I’ve felt fine, but the cough hasn’t gotten better – if anything, as the week progressed, it’s getting worse.

I’ve been thinking that maybe I’m reacting to some of my medications, or possibly I’m developing an allergy. But this morning, after playing hockey, I’m feeling a little weak and achy.

Now that’s a sure sign for me that I’m under the weather. That achy feeling combined with being a little clammy, that’s summertime sickness.

What makes it worse is that we’re going on vacation for a couple of weeks. It’s not a good time to be feeling this way.

I’ve heard some say that when we carry stress for a while and then we get a break, our bodies say, “That’s it! I’ve had enough!” and go on strike.

Others say when we push ourselves too hard and don’t recharge our bodies they are not able to fight off the germs floating around in the air and we become more susceptible to getting sick.

So I guess there is something worse that being sick in the spring or summer, and that is being sick in the spring when you’re on vacation.

The whole purpose of taking a vacation right now is to get some needed rest. Well, I’m going to be restless if I’m only able to look out the window at birds, see the trees bud and watch the grass turn green.

I wouldn’t mind it so much if all I had to do outside is rake the lawn or clean the deck, but the trails are opening up for mountain biking and golf courses are right ready to put the pins on the greens.

What I need is some kind of pill that will fast-track me back to health. Since my heart attack three years ago I now take pills every day … what’s one more pill if it will get me the results I’m looking for?

The reality is I’m just going to have to slow down, get some rest and wait it out. Oh, and take vitamin C.

Here’s the thing: The need for rest is built into us. We need it, but often times we don’t get enough of it because we are doing too much. Sickness is a forced rest for the body. Spiritually speaking, falling to sin is a sign you need to find rest in God. When temptation to sin is too much for you, that’s an indicator you need to spend time resting in the Lord.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are your indicators that you need to take a rest? Leave your comment below.

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It Sure Is Cold!

“Man, it’s cold out there!”, I said to a friend this week. I’ve made that same statement several times since and I believe it’s going to be one of my go-to statements for the next foreseeable future.

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I’m having visions of when I lived in Alberta. I remember driving across Edmonton one February day, on my way to a conference at another church. There were about five pastors from our church in an iced up car, traveling in what seemed to be fog, at minus 28 degrees Celsius.

I thought it was fog – for all intensive purposes it acted like fog – you couldn’t see the cars ahead of you on the road. But it wasn’t really fog; it was so cold that there were ice crystals in the air!

That’s what created the fog-like condition, and it created another phenomenon that fascinated some of the passengers in the car: sun dogs.

These sun dogs are not what you are thinking … dogs that love to lie out at the beach and tan their underbellies. No, these sun dogs are like phantom suns. The light refracts off the ice crystals creating a bright spot on either side of the sun when it’s still low on the horizon.

These mock suns took people’s minds away from the fact that the inside of the car was still ice cold despite the five bodies that were huddled together.

I didn’t look at the sun dogs that much. I was concerned that my eyes were starting to water, and I didn’t want my boss to have to use the car scraper on them so I could see again.

It was cold that day. I still remember it even though it took place over twenty years ago. I still get shivers thinking about it right now!

The next sun dog I want to see is my brother’s bulldog, Chopper, wearing sunglasses at the beach.

I was remembering all this because it’s cold here in Ontario right now. And I was talking with my daughter the other day, bemoaning the fact of how cold it is.

She wanted to comfort me, ease my pain, get me thinking nicer thoughts, so she said, “at least it’s sunny.”  My response to that was, “Karlie, that’s what they say in Alberta!” and immediately my mind went straight back to those sun dogs and ice crystals.

By this time of year, the snow on people’s front yards should be all stomped down by kids playing in the snow, building snowmen.

But it’s been so cold for so long that kids in Kingston have forgotten what snowmen are. They don’t know how to build a snow fort or form snow balls anymore.

This is a childhood right of passage, but with temperatures of -24 C the snow won’t stick together.

I’m afraid if this keeps up we’ll have to retrain a whole generation of kids. They will have to teach a class called “Snow 101” to our grade 3 kids … which would be better than some of topics they’re proposing to teach next year!

Here’s the thing: Have you gone a long time feeling cold and distant from God? Maybe it’s time to try a new spiritual discipline to help you enter into a warmer, deeper, richer relationship with God. In Richard Foster’s book, “Celebration of Discipline”, he gives 12 spiritual disciplines:  inward disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, study; outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission, service; corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. Why not give one of these a try to warm up your relationship?

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: On a scale of 1 – 10, how warm would you say your relationship with God is? Leave your comment below.

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I Got Left Behind

No one likes to be left behind, to stay put while others go somewhere. It doesn’t even matter where someone is going or why; it’s the fact that they get to go while you remain that’s the issue.

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That’s what happened to me this weekend. Lily left town and I’m left to stay home.

In our relationship, I’ve mostly been the one who’s gone somewhere while Lily has been left behind.

Going anywhere has some adventure, some intrigue to it; staying home is nothing but familiar.

Sometimes we try to trick our mind so it sounds like it’s better to stay behind. We might say something like, “Oh I hear it’s really cold in Florida right now.”

That might give momentary relief, hopefully long enough until the person leaves so they don’t witness you begging to go along as their luggage.

The fact is, it doesn’t matter how rotten the temperature is in Florida, going there has two very big selling points. First, it’s adventure – you are the going person and not the left behind chump.

And secondly, it’s Florida, and we live in Canada. We have three feet of snow on our lawn … the best Florida could produce on its worst day would be something that looked like manna from Biblical times.

And that’s where Lily has gone. No, not to some Biblical times place; she’s gone to Florida.

Yes, she’s driven to Florida with her mother and sister. I saw inside the trunk and I would not want to be part of their luggage. Nor do I think I would fit in very well as a tag-a-long.

They’re better without me and I’m better to stay home. See how my mind is working hard to adjust to being left behind?

It won’t be too bad here for me. I’ll probably shovel snow a few times this week. They may only get a couple of beach days.

I get to go to work everyday this week and have some evening commitments, too. They won’t even have a schedule to keep. They may have a hard time remembering what time of day it is.

I will be eating some of the finest foods, made and cooked by Lily’s own hands, then frozen solid in the freezer, so I can easily slip them in the microwave and nuke them.

They’ll have to spend money and eat out at restaurants like Applebee’s, Bob Evans, and the Olive Garden. Well, maybe not them, but they will have to eat out.

Here in Kingston we’ve been having quite a bit of sunshine of late; you can almost feel its tanning effects on your face … or maybe that’s frostbite from the windchill effect.

It doesn’t matter. If I stay outside long enough while she is away, my skin will be just as red as hers … though I will have to be careful I’m not out too long so the tip of my nose doesn’t chip off!

Here’s the thing: God wants you to journey with Him. It is a daily invitation to walk with Him, not just on your own, and to experience your day with Him. Go with Him. The crazy thing is, you are going that way anyway. If you travel with Him, however, you’ll experience the adventure and not be left behind.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What trip do you long to take right about now? Leave your comment below.

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Why You Get Springtime Colds

There’s nothing worse than a springtime cold – partly because you’re not supposed to get a cold when the weather is warm (or just “warmer” this spring).

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Colds are for the dead of winter when it’s nasty outside, -30 and everyone is trapped inside to spread their germs around like kids trading hockey cards in Johnny’s basement.

But I could see this one coming on. I could have predicted it. I let myself get run-down and then put myself in situations where I could easily catch what someone else was trying to get rid of.

I had a couple of late nights and then a trip to Toronto and back the same night. The next morning I had to be up for a seven o’clock meeting, so I only got a few hours of sleep.

I knew right then I was vulnerable. My office is rather frigid at this “in between seasons” time of year, so I was also a little chilled during the day.

Then on the weekend, at a family get together, there were several who were fighting off colds and other bugs, and Sunday I shook a lot of hands at church, hands that are filled with germs.

Monday I started sneezing and blowing my nose. I don’t think I’ve ever sneezed as much as I have this week. I would say for the first four days I must have sneezed about thirty times each day.

I normally sneeze in two’s. My brother’s sneeze pattern is about 4 or 5 in a row. This week I was sneezing like my brother, multiple sneezes almost every time.

Friday morning I woke up with a sore throat and I worried that I wouldn’t have a voice to preach on Sunday. I know my congregation prays for me … I’m just hoping they’re praying that I have a voice and not the other way around!

The last two days I really haven’t felt all that great. But this morning, after a very restless night, I thought playing hockey would be the ticket to get me feeling better.

There was no sore throat when I got up so I put on an extra sweatshirt and let my pores push all those bad bugs out of me while I sweat. I wrote about this method in my blog “Guaranteed To Cure The Common Cold” (you can read it here).

This is not the time of year to be having a lingering cold. It’s no fun BBQ-ing and not being able to taste the Montreal Steak Spice on your steak, or being able to smell the fresh breeze while you’re outside doing yard work.

No one wants to be looking out the window at the green grass, budding trees and feeling too lousy to get out there to do anything.

It’s a different story in the middle of the winter with the snow piled up to the window sills and the wind howling at the front door. When it’s like that you’re almost glad you don’t feel like going outside.

I guess I better pay closer attention to the needs of my body.

Here’s the Thing: Like a springtime cold, when you find yourself in a situation when you think, “This shouldn’t be happening to me”, take time to dissect it. God may be trying to teach you through your experience. Don’t just accept it without seeking to find what God wants you to learn from it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you learned from a situation you didn’t think you should be in? I’d really like to hear from you. You can leave a message below.

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Guaranteed to Cure the Common Cold

If you want to know how to get over a cold really quickly, I have the secret remedy. You may have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of hockey equipment to do it, but I swear by this method. I’ve been doing this for years and the results speak for themselves.

Johnson And Johnson Recalls Children's Cold Medicines

The other day I woke up with not the beginnings of a cold, or even the sniffles. I woke up with a full-blown, about a 2 days in cold, without any prior symptoms. I have no explanation for it other than it’s my wife’s fault. She must have given it to me.

There is a slight possibility that my late nights this past week have weakened my immune system, but I really think it was Lily who gave me this cold. She may not have had any symptoms herself, but I think she’s sometimes a carrier for these types of germs.

So there I was, sneezing every fifteen minutes, blowing my nose every ten minutes and coughing in between. My body was a little achy but I was more chilled than anything. I even hauled out my Grandma afghan, and when I do that, I’m sick!

I tried to get a good night’s sleep but I tossed and turned all night. I woke up the next morning not feeling any better. Mind you, my alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. and NO ONE feels at the top of their game at that hour!

I had a decision to make: roll over and go back to sleep, or drag my achy, chilled, sorry-looking body out of bed for hockey. It was a quick decision I made – I had to! If I thought about it for even a few seconds, I would have pulled the covers up over my head.

I had gotten out my hockey equipment the night before, just in case. But if I was going to play, I needed something else: the secret remedy/weapon to blasting a cold out of your system. I needed a sweatshirt, the thicker the better.

This remedy involves all my regular hockey equipment, but I wear a t-shirt AND a sweatshirt under my hockey sweater. This allows me to – how can I put this delicately? – sweat like a pig. Oh, I sweat when I play hockey, but with the extra layers, I get to the point of overheating and that’s the condition you need to be in to gain the desired results.

Just to make sure my method was going to work, the group that was coming on the ice after us needed a few extra bodies. I decided to stick around and keep the perspiration flowing.

When I was all done, I was pretty tired. By the time I changed and showered, I was feeling achy and chilly again. So I came home and jumped into bed for a couple of hours. When I got up, voila! I was better! – aches gone, chills gone, the need to blow my nose … well, I’m still going through Kleenex at a rapid rate, but I feel better.

Here’s the thing: For many of the requests we have of God, we just pray. It might be a nice, calm, logical prayer of what we want or need from God. But there are some things that require us to sweat it out with God, to get on our knees and pour out our hearts and souls to Him. That’s the tough work of prayer. You shouldn’t neglect that kind of prayer.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Have you found yourself in need of sweating out your prayer with God?  Leave your comment below.

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She Made Me Sick

It almost never happens. In fact, I can’t ever remember a time when it’s happened before. But it happened this weekend: my wife, Lily and I got sick at the same time. Usually, one of us is there for the other one. Well, maybe her more than me.

Normally if Lily is sick, I stay clear to protect myself; I don’t want to get too close.  And it works most of the time. Sometimes however, as she is getting better, that’s when I’ll come down with it.

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Saturday we were both in bed, pretty much all day. We had extra blankets and layers of clothing on. I’m not sure what to call our sickness. There was a time way back, when I would offer a name for it.  Back then, if you were achy, coughing, hot and cold at the same time, we called that a cold. If you felt like you were going to throw up, it was the flu.

Now, it seems we call everything the flu. That’s not very descriptive, if you ask me. I remember when, if someone told you they had the flu, you got a mental image of them with a bucket close by.

Now, however, we are just plain confused when someone says, “I had the flu.” You ask, “What kind of flu? – the kind that you feel like throwing up, or the blowing-your-noise-and-have-a-temperature kind?” Come on, just give them two different names; one’s the flu and the other is a cold. Lily and I had the cold variety, got the picture?

As the day progressed, I started thinking that our kids should be here to look after us.  After all, we certainly did that for them for many years. Sadly, Karlie lives two time zones away and Mike, well, he’d stayed over at a friend’s the night before.

We were sick and on our own. So Lily had to make lunch for us. Now, just so you don’t get the idea I did nothing all day, I made my own dinner. It was a frozen pizza, but I had to go downstairs twice, the second time for the instructions. That used way too much energy for me that day!

All day I couldn’t shake this thought that our kids should be here for us. Karlie even phoned us while she was out shopping, wanting advice on choosing a soup stock to buy. It was like she was taunting us with visions of chicken vegetable soup. But there was no way she could beam it over to us.

I looked outside and it was snowing. There was no way we could shovel the snow, but Mike could do it . . . if he was home!

At that point, we both felt kind of sad and lonely, Lily more that me, ‘cause I had hockey to watch all afternoon and evening. Where were those kids when you needed them?

Here’s the thing: Just like our kids were not close by when we were both sick, if we have allowed or caused some distance in our relationship with God to exist, we certainly won’t feel like He is close by when we need Him. I need to make sure I stay close to God when I’m doing well, so that when I’m not, I know He is there to help.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kinds of things can cause distance in your relationship with God? Leave your comment below.