Hello,
We’ve had some snow up on the ridge. How much? I
don’t know, but with the vigorous winds that swish through here, we have drifts
that rise to our knees. Since this
is the first winter that we have lived on our hill-top, we are being taught our
lessons of dealing with the snow by the harsh teacher of experience.
The drive from the main road to our place is a little less than a half a
mile….all up hill! The drive
begins with a gentle sloped straight-a-way and then with a sharp left turn the
incline increases as it parallels the hillside. The next section of the lane is short, but it is steep,
connecting the lower parallel road to the higher one. In a low flying plane, the lane looks a bit like a squared
off backwards question mark.
We have a tractor with a blade on it. It is my wife’s favorite toy. So, when you come by our house and see her on our tractor,
know that it is not a sign of my laziness, but rather her childhood delights
being lived out. She’s been busy
plowing with the tractor trying to keep up with the snow, and for the most part
we’ve been able to traverse our lane.
Unfortunately, we were away for a couple of hours, and the show got
ahead of her/us.
So, as I was driving up our lane and made the turn onto the short but
steepest section, the tires of our Honda CRV started spinning and we wound up
sliding into the ditch alongside the road. In order not to make the situation worse, we gave up on our
upward climb, and my wife climbed out of the car saying, “I’ll go get the
tractor.” About 10 minutes later,
out from the trees where our house is located came the slowly plodding tractor
with my wife at the wheel. Her
plan was to try and clear the snow down to the stone bed, hoping that the front
wheels of our car would grab and we would be freed from the drift into which we
had slid. “It’s going to take a
while,” she said, “if you want to go inside, I’ll come and get you when it is
ready.” So, up the hill I walked and sat down in front of the fireplace that
was crackling with burning wood.
About 2 hours later, she knocked on the door and said she had gotten it
ready. I put my coat and boots
back on and headed down to our snow-trapped car. When we got there, I told her to gun the car so the back
wheels would spin, and with the wheels spinning, I would push the back end of
the car back on the road on which she had done her clearing. For some reason, the wheels would not
spin, and when they did spin and the car would move, they would immediately
just stop. We worked at it for a
half hour, getting nowhere. Our
neighbors happened by on the snow mobiles and with the strength of two more
people, we got it to move, but still not enough to get out of the ditch and up
the hill.
My frustration and patience were melting so I decided that I should give
it a try behind the wheel. My
efforts were no more productive.
After a couple of attempts, my wife said to me, “Your back wheels keep
on locking up.”
So, I glanced at the parking break…..and guess what….it was set. Apparently I had set it when I left to
go inside as the car rested on the incline. I released the parking break by depressing it again, and
with the ease of a bulldozer the car ascended the slope. That is all it took: releasing the
parking break. All that work…all
that frustration…..all that anger….all because of a set parking break. “Ugh,” I thought to myself.
Wouldn’t it be nice if all of the struggles we face would have at such
an easy fix, but you and I know that isn’t the way it works. Many of the struggles that we face in
life are so multi-facetted that the solutions are not quick and easy, but long
and hard. Other struggles are so
deep and profound that it doesn’t seem like there is an answer. Others come with resolutions that are
worse than the problem itself, and some seem to come with no solution.
That is the way life is.
You know it. I know it, and
the people who come to church on Sunday mornings know it. When you find yourself sledding up a
steep hill in life and going nowhere, know that there is a bunch of people who
are glad to join you in your struggle: to lift you up when your strength is
spent, to encourage you with their care when the struggle is long, to hold you
when everything seems to be falling apart. Sometimes Christians are guilty of pronouncing easy answers
to life’s struggles, but most of the Christians for whom I have been their
pastor have wallowed in life’s complexity themselves, and they know all too
well that simple and easy answers are rarely found. They know that their faith isn’t built on the hopes that God
would solve all their problems. Their
faith is built on the cross and resurrection that shows God’s power to overcome
all of our struggles.
So, when you are stuck in a ditch and easy answers are hard to find,
come join God’s people on Sunday morning, and you will find people who will
embrace you with the grasp of God, the one who has shown his resolve to
overwhelm all of our struggles with his grace and mercy.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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