ANOTHER ROUND OF ICICLES

After a short but welcome warm spell, it’s back to the icicle-producing deep freeze. May God’s love warm your heart no matter what the weather is like.

Hallelujah! I finished rewriting "Trouble at Fish Camp", Book Two of my “Ways of the Williwaw” series. My daughter Cherrie and I spent 11 hours going over all 115 pages. I’m so grateful to her expertise in editing and her willingness to help. Next round: add some necessary details and scenes. Then more editing by my critique group. I’m still hoping for May publication of the book. Look for upcoming excerpts of the book.


ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES by Sally Bair

Icicles
I’m like a little kid when I see small icicles along the edge of my roof. My fingers itch to knock them down or pull one off to suck on. Some, of course, are too big to consider breaking off. Then the danger of hurting someone or damaging the roof is reason enough to leave well enough alone.

Icicles are beautiful in the glow of sunlight. Their interiors vary from one to the next, showing fine cracks and lines and other flaws. Their exterior growth comes from the relentless drip of water. They can be removed only by a child or home owner, or through exposure to sunshine or warm temperatures.

Some people could be compared to icicles—cold, unmoving, outwardly beautiful. Their “cold as an icicle” demeanor may have come from some harmful incident that started the process. Perhaps a child died, leaving the parent afraid loving another would mean loss of that one, too. Perhaps a divorce or separation brought layers of anger to the heart. Perhaps the experience of being abused triggered fear and distrust.

There’s hope for those who have formed icicles around their hearts. Change can come by removing the memory of the relentless dripping that caused it. Removal can come from chipping away at the cause, sort of like shoveling the snow and ice off a roof. The only way to truly melt the icicle heart is by exposing it to warmth. Studies show that many people, especially children, have been emotionally healed through the warm, loving touch of a foster parent, a friend, or even an animal.

None of us are immune to heartbreaks. But we don’t want them to harden our hearts into ice. We don’t want leftover ice chips to harden our hearts. Rather, we should seek to destroy the effects of our past grudges, relentless hurts, crippling fears.

The Bible talks about the danger of having a heart of stone. An icicle can be likened to a stone—hard, immovable, unyielding—until the sun (that is, the Son of God) melts it. Embracing God’s love through Christ can free our hearts of icicles. Often, love shown by Christians melts hard hearts. So does reading and meditating on God’s Word. In fact, the Holy Spirit uses many ways to bring about the softening necessary to melt the icicles around our hearts.

However it comes, His love will change our icy hearts.

Lord, remove our stony heart and “…give (us) a heart of flesh, that (we) may walk in (Your) statutes and keep (Your) judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 11:19) In Jesus’ name, amen.