Last night was the coldest walk outside this year. 

It may not have been the coldest night of the year, but it certainly was the coldest I’ve been all year.

I remember my days in Edmonton. We would always get a stretch of cold temperatures each winter. It might have lasted a couple of weeks, but it felt like it was never going to end.

It was the kind of cold in which we would talk ourselves out of even going to the store to get milk: 

“Dear, are you sure you really need milk? Maybe you could pour something else on your cereal in the morning.” 

“Have you ever tried almond milk? I think you might like it.” 

“Let’s just stay in and go to the store tomorrow. I hear it’s going to get up to -24 C tomorrow afternoon.” 

The conversation would go something like that and we would stay in and do without, just because we didn’t even want to drive in that cold if we didn’t have to. 

But I also remember times I did go to the store and there would be three pickup trucks at the 7-Eleven ahead of me, nobody in them, but the engines were still running. 

I did the same. 

Car thieves must have had the same conversation about whether they really wanted to go out in the cold to steal a car that was open, keys in the ignition with the engine running. 

Well, last night that’s what it felt like. We went to the Kingston Frontenacs’ game and found a parking spot several block from the arena … which meant hoofing it to the rink, but that’s what we do all the time. 

Last night we should have tried to get valet service because, man, that walk was cold. 

It had snowed earlier in the day. In fact, before the temperature dropped there was a lot of snow that fell in a very short time – so much that many businesses didn’t have a chance to shovel their sidewalks.

Because it got so cold so fast, the snow packed together and stuck to the streets and sidewalks, leaving them very uneven and slippery. We were walking on trampled snow and underneath our shoes the snow squeaked as we walked. 

You know when you buy cheese curds and you pop one in your mouth and the cheese squeaks as you chew? That’s the sound the snow made as we walked to the arena. 

It took me about half the game and a hot chocolate to start to warm up … but we were in a building that has its floor frozen with a sheet of ice on it. 

The walk back to the car was colder. 

The temperature had dropped several more degrees from when we came. 

I didn’t think the car was going to heat up before we got home. It was the coldest night.

Well, they say it’s the damp air in southern Ontario that makes the cold go right through you. It sure did last night. 

Here’s the thing: In the comfort of your home, you may not feel so pressed to go out and follow Christ. You may be able to convince yourself you are okay just as you are. But let me encourage you – get out to a church, talk with a pastor and find out how to follow Christ. Don’t hibernate on this decision. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you put off because you are comfortable? Leave your comments and questions below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email twice weekly.