Blog Bio Mail, Weather and Just in Time

The day was overcast. I’m not a big fan of dark days. Gloomy days make me feel gloomy, too. On gloomy days, indoor lights aren’t enough to dispel the dark mood. I Like to turn on battery-powered lanterns we keep for nighttime or traveling. They help somewhat.

This was one of those dismal, dreary days. The sky threatened more than gloom. Wind got into the act. Didn’t feel or look much like a Spring day, more like the broodings of Winter. Late afternoon still hadn’t produced more than depressing gloom.

Keith headed out for the mail. He felt a few drops of rain. After retrieving the mail, he hurried back. As though taking a deep breath, the weather held back for a moment. The moment, he closed the door behind him, the sky let loose, howling and growling as though angry its prey escaped.

Rain poured from the clouds hard and fast. Ice hit. Hail slammed against the roof and siding making us wonder if we’d needed to have the roof checked when the storm cleared. The fury lasted for quite a while and even the next day rain, cold and wind lingered.

But it didn’t matter. We were safe in the house my brother Paul built for me, with my limitations in mind. Even more, God held off the storm until Keith was safely inside. How can I not be thankful? Thankful, and looking forward to the next sunny day.

© 2022 Carolyn R Scheidies

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Blog Bio Rain, Rain, and More Rain

Photo by Nick Nice on Unsplash

I was a preschooler when we lived in Clitherall, Minnesota. (My father was a minister.) After it rained, I’d plop down and play in the large puddles lining the dirt roads by our house. I had a great time splashing until, one day, my older sister Karin spoiled it all by pointing out I shared those puddles with worms that rose to the surface. Yuck! So ended my puddle splashing.

I remember dancing on the lawn during a gentle rain shower in Siren Wisconsin. I preferred being outside, even in the rain. Other times, I splashed through puddles secure in my rain boots.

Wyoming was different. It didn’t rain much. Only one creek ran most of the year. The others only filled and swirled with water during a long, hard rainfall or during Spring thaw. They were mostly dry creek beds suitable for exploring. It wasn’t fun being out in the rain that turned the ground into muck, ripping shoes off feet as it sucked and tried to drag the wearer down. The ground became almost, but not quite, quicksand consistency. A person needs to take care. Once while down by the rushing Lance Creek, I got stuck and lost a boot before my friend help me to safety.

Every place we lived had differences. Kearney Nebraska has long dry spells. It also may have days and days of almost freezing rain even in the last of May. After several hot days, we turned off the heat only to turn it on again when the temperatures inside were more like January than May.

I like rain—for a day. Too many days of gloom and rain drag down my mood. I need sunshine and light. If the ceiling light doesn’t give off enough, I turn on lanterns and flashlights. After days of rain, I remind myself the farmers need rain. I pray the rain will soak into the ground and not runoff. I pray for good crops. And, I hope the rain will stop for a while and come again another day.

© 2022 Carolyn R Scheidies

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Blog May, Flowers and Hope

We might expect warm weather by May. Yet warmer temperatures have been slow in arriving this year. Many turned off furnaces when we had a few very warm days, only to turn them on again when the temperatures dipped into the freezing range bringing high winds, rain, and even hail.

Nevertheless, the grass is starting to green, trees are budding, and flowers are hesitantly poking their heads through the ground. I recall one year when cold temperatures kept Spring on hold while cold prevailed.

Then one day, almost by magic everything changed. Temperatures warmed and suddenly, as though waiting for just the right time, the outdoors bloomed with color and enticing smells of flowers and grass and so much more.

That special moment is what happens when we give control of our lives to Jesus. He comes in and everything becomes new. We become new creations in Him. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

What better time than now to become the beautiful creation God has in mind for those who follow Him?

© 2022 Carolyn R Scheidies

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Blog Rain more enjoyable with gutters

I remember a time as a child when we lived in Siren, Wisconsin. We lived on a corner property in the parsonage on the same lot as the church. The large lawn faced the main highway north and south.

In the winter, snow piled deep. Late spring and summer brought rain. That day I was inside when I heard the patter of rain on the roof. I listened as I ran to a window.

Rain sprinkled the lawn with a gentle rain that drew me toward the door. Without asking permission, I slipped out the front door and danced barefoot on the lawn, arms extended enjoying the soft rain as it cooled my skin and upturned face. It didn’t seem all that long before Mom beckoned me inside, but I never forgot that afternoon in the rain.

But rain has not always been a friend. Cleaning our gutters was not easy and we looked into new gutters that were covered. As we talked to a salesman and our house was checked, it turned out the areas under some areas of the old gutters also needed repair or replacement.

With spring and summer rains on the way, we ordered the repairs and the whole gutter system. Only installation got delayed with the rise in prices of lumber and elements. That we understood. Over two months later we were notified all the parts were in and a crew would be out to take down the gutters and restore the parts, like fascia, that needed work.

The crew worked hard and in a couple of days they wrapped up. “Someone will call on Monday”, we were told, “to schedule the gutter installation.” That call never came. Days and weeks went by. I called this alphabet company only to be informed that a different crew put in the gutters and all their parts had not arrived. We’d been told everything was in. Not true.

Now what were we to do? We had no gutters. Then came the rain, often in sheets battering against the roof. I envisioned roof damage. The storms continued and I cringed every time it thundered.

I began to call, often once a week. I got excuses. Two months of rainstorms and no gutters. This was not OK, but the company wasn’t listening. Finally, my daughter asked me to send our contract to her which I did. She called the company. I don’t what she said, but at eight the next morning the doorbell rang. The gutter installers were there and ready to go.

Before noon our new gutter system was installed. I wanted to cry with relief. Now when it rains, I give thanks for our gutters that seem to be working fine. The company wanted names of friends to contact. I threw away the form. They send a Husker license plate with their name on it. My husband threw it away.

Even the Bible says not to start a house (or any project) unless you first count the cost or, in our case, have all the pieces parts to complete it. This company needs to take that to heart. Don’t leave a customer without gutters for two months.

I am thankful the work they did was good, thankful for our gutters and thankful our roof wasn’t damaged by the storms. Most of all, when I needed one, an advocate stepped forward.

We like to be independent, but sometimes we all need an advocate to help us. Sometimes we can be an advocate for someone in need. It’s something to think about.

© 2021 Carolyn R Scheidies
Published as a Kearney Hub column 9/13/2021
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Devotion Poetry Look Up

And when these things begin to come to pass,then look up, and lift up your heads;for your redemption draws nigh. —Luke 21:28

Grain glistens golden in the scorching sun,
Promise of a bountiful harvest.
Like a stately procession
The long stalks wave in the warm gentle breeze,
And only the farmer's frown
Hints at the disaster he sees.
For, under the sun, hot and dry,
Stalks shrivel, slowly die.
Day after day the farmer searches the sky,
Prays for clouds to darken,
Bows in gratitude as rain falls.

Like the ripening grain, we
Like everything to be
Sunshine, not realizing it is through
The storms of life that we
Most often grow, and thus
Produce fruit,
For Him.

Help me, Lord, not to be unfruitful or to complain when things don't go my way. Instead, help me lift my eyes to You and wait for what You have for me. Amen.

From Journey of Faith
(C) 2016 Carolyn R Scheidies
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