A couple of weeks ago I had decided that I was going to begin spending a significant portion of my time in the evenings, doing some offline reading. The "grab your book and your coffee and curl up in the fluffy recliner" type of reading. Well, for various reasons I haven't been doing that. Last night, it took a snowstorm to get me into that big comfy recliner.
I knew the storm was coming, but I didn't know how powerful it was really going to be. They said we'd get rain first, then later it would turn to heavy, wet snow, with temps dropping overnight and bringing in more snow. They, as it turns out that they usually are, were wrong.
We never did get rain, it started as LOTS of wet snow, blowing in from an easterly direction. Easterly storms never leave us without damage, and this one was no exception. It started around 1pm, and by 4pm we'd already lost at least 2 very large branches on the juniper tree just outside the kitchen window, and at least another large pine tree branch in the driveway. How many more are down now, will have to wait to be determined when the sun comes up.
By 6:30, the power started to flicker, and I warned the kids "we're going to lose power, so when we do, just stay where you are until I get the oil lamps lit". I should have just lit them then, but I was washing dishes and trying to hurry. When we lose power, we lose water too. The water pump in the well is electric. Two dirty forks shy of being done, the lights went out. I quickly filled a pitcher full of water in the pitch black kitchen, then the water went off too.
So, we lit the candles on the kitchen wall (I have very old wrought iron candle holders on the wall, they're very cool and very midieval looking) and found the 2 oil lamps. We sat in the kitchen and talked & the kids goofed around. We watched transformers blow all up and down the highway, as the evening sky turned a very cool shade of pale turquoise. Five or six times that happened, and Rachel pipe up with "okay, NOW I'm just a little more than freaked out". Who is this child and how did she get in my house?
Jessica was on her way home from a girl's conference, and Kev was on his way home from work. I was trying hard not to worry, knowing how dangerous the roads are here when we get a storm like this.
Jessica arrived home about a half hour later, with tales of 1. how many wrecks they saw on the highway, and how glad she was they were stuck behind a salter most of the way home and 2. how incredibly cool the conference was, what the best speaker spoke on (anti-abortion, true love waiting, and staying away from drugs), and the girl singing group she got to SING FOR! She was very jazzed about that. Even more so she was jazzed about the fact they told her she was really good, and should follow where the Lord leads her in her singing. She sang Amazing Grace for them, and she said she was so nervous singing for professional singers, that she almost thought she'd faint. They were kind and reassured her even professionals get really nervous sometimes.
So we did devotion early (we always do it after Kev gets home), and I tucked the kids into bed with extra comforters. No power around here means no lights, no water, and no heat. The furnace that we burn wood in, that propels the heat into the house, is powered by electricity.
Kev did arrive home safely, about 20 minutes later than he usually does. When I stuck my head out the window over the driveway to say "hey, guess what, it's snowing and we have no power" he laughed and said "I'll tell YOU it's snowing!". He said the roads were just treacherous, and with the snow coming down sideways, it was like driving through an optical illusion the entire 40 miles home.
So, with no lights, no water, no heat, and no distractions, Kev and Jessica and I settled into the living room with the 2 oil lamps. We talked for a half hour or so when Jessica decided she'd just go to bed.
Kev had his Francis Shaeffer book, and I had my David Wells book. For the next 3 hours, we'd read a bit, then one of us would pause to read outloud to the other one something that struck us on that page. Which lead to further thoughts & brief discussion about the early first and second century philosophers that read by candlelight, and spent inordinate amounts of time thinking, without distractions. We both concluded that shadows cast on walls by the flicker of the candles, (or in our case oil lamps) was sufficient to cause deep thought. Kev then concluded it was actually John Owen that invented the couch table with legs that tuck under the edge of the couch. Handy for holding a book, pen, paper, candle and bowl of chips. Somehow I seriously doubt John Owen ate Lays Potato Chips while writing his 800 volumes on Hebrews. But, you never know.
By 11pm it was cold enough in the living room that my nose was cold, and I was sniffling. The wind was just howling outside, and every few minutes we'd hear a rumble and a series of thumps. Still not sure what that was, but we're assuming it was more branches coming down. The big ole trees here never fare well when we get these powerhouse easterly storms.
I dug some extra blankets out of the linen closet upstairs (including the afghan my mom made for me 28 years ago - which is still in perfect condition!), and called it a night.
As is the norm around here, when the power came back on at 4 am, every light in the house was on. An hour later, the fire is burning well in the furnace, the coffee is done brewing, and I'm still half asleep/half awake. At least most of the lights are off now, though.
So some closing thoughts about last night. I'm quite thankful Kev and Jessica both made it home safely. I'm equally thankful we have so many extra blankets around here. David Wells is a prophetic genius and he likely doesn't even know it, and my friend Michael who loaned me the book, is a dear and precious friend. I would have read it sooner, but Kev absconded with it and read it first. Just like he did with the Nancy Pearcey book I got for my birthday. Someone should really speak to this man about his book stealing habit.
And... it's still snowing. A lot. And I need more coffee.
Oh, and one more thought. My comment from yesterday about reconsidering my time in the 'sphere wasn't to imply I'm leaving it. Not yet, anyway. I meant I am reconsidering the fruitfulness of sounding off on things that send up red flags for me, in evangelicism. Many closed ears out there, and much too much eagerness to rail against the messenger. Interestingly enough, David Wells said exactly the same thing, many years ago when he wrote Losing Our Virtue (the book I'm reading). That likely won't stop me from speaking out, but it does give me pause for thought on the way I do it. Much to consider there.
5:16 am... off to the warm, lit kitchen, for fresh, hot coffee.
tags: Biblical Christianity, David Wells, Francis Shaeffer, Ontario snow storms
STORM UPDATE:
The damage was a lot worse than I thought. At least 10 large limbs downed on both sides of the driveway, and at least 7 of them off the juniper tree. Eek, we have a lot of cleaning up to do when this storm is gone.
It's still snowing, and the forecast is another 15cm today, 15 more tonight, and 15 more tomorrow. Add that to the (roughly) 6-8 inches we got last night, and we're looking at approximately 23.5 inches of snow. It's really hard to measure it though, since we live in open field country. The wind blows most of it into gigantic drifts in most places. In storms like this, the drifts in the driveway are usually about 3-4 feet deep. Which makes for rather entertaining driving, I must say.
Woops, scratch all that, they just updated the storm watch, and now it says "Total storm snowfall amounts will reach 40 to locally 50 cm by tonight in the hardest hit areas to the east of Lake Huron." And that's just for tonight. We're about an hour due east of the southern section of Lake Huron. Right in the snowsquall belt. Ohhhkay, this should be fun.
I tried to upload pics here, but blogger's picture uploader doesn't like me. So, you can go over HERE and see them if you like.
I suspect the storm damage and accident reports will be in tomorrow's papers. So far, all I've seen is the one report from the TO area of a fatal accident of a young mother and her 4 yr old son, when their SUV skidded off the road into an icy canal. :-(
Kev suspects there will be more reports like that, since the roads & visibility last night were just brutal. They'll be worse tonight, I'm sure.
