Ready for Winter

With fall in full force I have been giving some thought to winterizing. I have already winterized most things around my house. The hoses have been drained and the lawn mower is stored. I need more firewood and I still have a few things to take care of but for the most part I am ready for winter.

As I was making my mental list for winter I remembered a time in college when I was asked to help with a winterizing job. A friend of a friend had an opportunity to make some money winterizing greenhouses in the area. He covered them with plastic sheeting that helped protect the glass-covered houses from ice and snow. It seemed like an easy way to make a few bucks so I agreed to help.

The job involved unfolding the plastic on top of the greenhouse and tacking it down at the eaves. It was cold and windy and the plastic was uncooperative. He needed someone light and agile to go to the center of the roof and help with the plastic. He had asked me to do it. It seemed easy enough until I got to the middle and realized that there was no place to put my feet, surrounded by glass, and pushed around by the wind. The sound of cracking glass was unmistakable.

We heard him groan and we all worked faster to get the job done and get off the roof before someone fell through it. When he counted the cracked panes later he said that we would all have to share from our profit to cover the cost. I could see how much this pained him so I volunteered my profit to pay for the glass. He accepted my offer and I later found out that the homeowner was very understanding. He also admitted that he should not have attempted the job with the wind blowing like it was that night. So I ended up being the only one who did not make any money.

Preparing for change costs. Change happens to us often. We experience changes at work, in our families, with our relationships, and the world around us is always changing. We also go through changes at Church. We have to constantly be on our guard against the blowing winds of change and adjust our balance to minimize the cost. But no matter what we do there is always a cost involved.

Jesus often called us to count the cost. It was never a question of whether or not there would be a cost to following Him. He called us to always be ready to make sacrifices. He also promised great rewards for those sacrifices.

He said, “And everyone who has left houses, brothers or sisters, father or mother, children, or fields because of My name will receive 100 times more and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29 HCSB)

Obeying Jesus costs us and those around us. We may not see the rewards in this life but we gladly pay the cost because of who made the promise. We cannot stop change. We can follow the one who will lead us through it.
Bro. Robin