My parents rented this old farmhouse when I was in elementary school. It was a few miles from the town we were living in at the time and surrounded by trees. It was a pretty standard farm setup for rural North Dakota. Except, we didn’t farm. The barn on our property sometimes held our landlord's cattle. The outbuildings probably were filled with equipment that wasn’t ours.
During the dark, cold, winter mornings my dad would wake me up and invite me downstairs. I would curl up next to him on the couch and we’d watch SportsCenter from the night before or the national news. I loved those mornings spending time with my dad, although I am sure that I fell right back to sleep most of the time.
Many days I would eventually grab a pillow and the heavy blanket with a lion’s face on it and journey to the far side of the room to the furnace vent. I’d lie down, throw the blanket over the vent, and enjoy how warm it was. It was as comforting as an early morning coffee or hot cocoa after playing outside in the snow.
I fondly recalled these memories tonight as I looked out at my not-yet-shoveled driveway after the first snow of the year came down today. In the dark of the night, with the cold weather outside, I grabbed a blanket and slid my chair over to the furnace vent (because I’m older now and that means that sometimes I’m wiser).
It is with a blanket next to a furnace vent that I am writing this post, recalling all the times I’ve done that through the years. The warmth of a furnace (or a fire if you have that option available) is all it is cracked up to be. Warmth is relaxing. Warmth calms me when days are stressful. And warmth draws others in.
People like to be around warm people. If my kids have cold hands they want me to grab them with my warm ones. But it’s even bigger and more profound than that. People are drawn to people who have warm personalities, people who are approachable and loving.
From everything I know about Jesus, that’s him. People were drawn to him when he walked the earth. They gathered en masse to hear him speak. They skipped meals and stayed all day. They crammed into tiny houses. They climbed trees. They threw off their day's customs and pushed through crowds to touch the hem of his garment.
All because of who he was. He was attractive to people because he offered them hope. They came in waves hoping that he would meet their physical needs but he loved them too much to stop there, he addressed the issues of their heart.
And that drew even more people to himself, and it still does today.
When I grabbed my pillow and blanket and laid down by the heater vent, I did so because I knew that I would be warm. And that’s the same mentality I want to have when I daily walk with my Savior.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
- Psalm 118:1
How about you?
On a cold and snowy day, what helps to bring warmth to your world?
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