We went to the temple this weekend.
I love to be there.
Even though it takes major planning, it is always a joy to spend time in the house of the Lord.
We were gone for 3 full days, and knew our pellet stove would run out of pellets before the weekend was over.
It wasn't much of a choice to turn the stove off...we just figured we wouldn't waste any pellets warming the house while we were gone.
Arizona turned out to be very cold.
It was very different than we expected...we usually wear shorts and short sleeves with no problems...but this time, it was actually cold enough that I was shivering walking into the temple.
I figured if it was cold in AZ, then certainly it was much colder here...as we usually have a significant difference in temperature between the two places.
Come to find out, it was freezing here...
actually, quite significantly below freezing...
and with our home not being warmed, night or day for 3 days, it cooled down to a mere 36 degrees inside.
Both Pat and I were a little shocked at just how cold it was when we arrived home, but because it was late, we just bundled the kids into 2 sets of pj's and put them all under 3 or 4 blankets.
Sam-Sam was debating whether or not to stay asleep, and so I put him on my chest and wrapped the front of my winter coat around him.
He acutually fell asleep that way...and as I sat shivering, inside of my coat, my mind turned to our pioneer ancestors...who had little protection against the biting winter cold.
No shelter from the wind.
One or two blankets, and for some, no good winter coats, because they either didn't have the money to have one, or they had planned to arrive in Utah before the winter storms approached.
It took all night for our house to approach warm...
and the stove ran all night.
Even yesterday, it still was chilled in the rooms away from the stove...
and again, my heart went out to those who lost their lives...
sheltering their children against their hearts, trying to trap their body heat to keep their little ones alive, and yet still, feeling their child grow cold and still because they simply could not fight the grip of death that comes to those who cannot get warm.
I am so grateful for the shelter of my home.
Not the emotional or spiritual shelter it gives me from the world,
but this time, for the actual shelter from the physical elements that impact us.
I am grateful, when the wind chill lowers the outside temperature to 15 or 16 degrees, that my home provides protection for me...and for my family.
And I pray for those who do not have the ability to heat their homes...
and for those who do not have homes.
Because truly, they literally are freezing.
My Family
7 comments:
Interesting that I would have similar thoughts. I can't imagine living day after day outside underneath a cold front.
Stay warm!
Was wondering where you'd been! I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to the temple. I wish there were one closer for you, I can't imagine what it's like. Having grown up in Utah where there's a temple within a 20 minute drive of wherever you are, it seems such an inconvenience to literally spend a good portion of the day attending a temple that's 75 minutes away if you're lucky enough to not hit Bay Area traffic! When I hear stories like this though, my gratitude returns.
When we attended our first Sacrament Mtg. as a married couple on our honeymoon, they announced a new fund that you could contribute to for our brothers and sisters that live in other countries and have to sell everything they own just to get to the temple once. I haven't heard anything about it since, but we always make an effort to contribute when we can. It's called the "Temple Patron Assistance" fund if you're interested.
Glad no harm came to your home from being so cold!
wow. great post.
This time of year I'm also grateful for my house!
This was very nice! :)
Whenever we would drive from South Dakota to visit my parents in Utah it would just really hit me how desolate and cold and FAR those pioneers had to go. Even after the rescue at Martin's Cove, they still had to go soooooooo far.
The image of you snuggling your little on under your winter coat is really moving.
K. Walking into my home & having it be 36 degrees is one of my worst nightmares.
Thank you for your quiet reflections about our pioneer ancestors. I, too, cannot imagine how painful & difficult it would have been to endure those circumstances, winter after winter. Just thinking about it gives me a much deeper appreciation for the hope that is correlated with Sring.
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