The opening line from a 1970 song by Led Zeppelin goes, “We come from the land of the ice and snow”. They wrote that song after a concert in Reykjavik, Iceland, but they could have written it if they had played in Kingston a week ago!

It’s not that ice and snow are unfamiliar to us here in Eastern Ontario, it’s the amount of time I’ve spent in the last three days breaking up ice and snow from my driveway and sidewalk.

I’ve done the excavation work and we have several layers that have been discovered below the surface that we are driving on. I haven’t uncovered any fossils or dinosaur bones yet, but I still have more to unearth as I seek to reach the pavement.

Most people just have one property they need to consider when removing the snow and ice, but I have two. Sunday morning I spent over an hour and a half before our service breaking up the ice and snow on the walkway at church.

That’s the glamorous part of being a pastor! Thankfully, I was saved from total exhaustion by my associate, and a few other congregants who came to my assistance.

Then, after church, during what is normally my “NFL nap time”, I continued to work like an archeologist on my driveway for an hour or so.

Things were melting, which made my work a little easier, but also urgent because the cold weather was coming back and I really needed to make headway before everything froze up again.

At one point, my neighbour drove home and stopped in front of our house for a moment and just pointed to his place. I said to him, “I’ll get on it right away.” Then he parked his vehicle and yelled over to me, “That’ll give you a heart attack!”

I didn’t really need the reminder that I’ve already had one of those, but it did get me thinking that I better not overdue it. Hospitals see a higher volume of heart attacks after a snowfall. It’s all that heavy pushing and lifting, and then immediately afterwards lying on a couch for a rest, that’s hard on your heart.

Normally, I get to the end of January before I’m sick of the snow, but I think I’m pretty much sick of it now. When is spring, anyway? We’ve passed the shortest day of the year, the sunlight will be with us longer and longer now. If only the clouds would leave us.

In Led Zeppelin’s song, they sing, “Our only goal will be the western shore”, but for me, at this moment in time, a southern destination is the only thing on my mind.

Enough of this digging up ice and snow, enough looking for buried treasure (asphalt and cement). What I really need is a beach somewhere, where the only thing I’m digging is my feet into the sand at the water’s edge!

Here’s the thing: Often when we find ourselves in the midst of something that is difficult, and maybe unpleasant, we seek some kind of relief from it. We want to escape from the difficulty into something pleasant, something enjoyable. Instead of seeking escape, seek God to help you through the difficulty you find yourself in. You will learn more from God by going through something than escaping from it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find difficult and unpleasant that you would like to escape from?  Leave your comment below.