Frostbite

Sometimes the road can get weary and doing the right thing can get lost in the confusion of doing what you feel, what you would rather do.  But the truth is, we should always strive to do what is right regardless of how uncomfortable it makes us feel or how much it may cause us to become an outsider when the truth calls you to go out into the cold, windy snowstorms instead of sitting nice and warm beside the fire.

Blizzards are dangerous.  They can be deadly.  And no one in their right mind who knows what the elements are capable of doing to their body would dare to venture out into one.  Perhaps.  But perhaps someone, a loved one, or someone nearby were caught in the blizzard, so close to home, blinded by the wind and storm, and unable to find their way back.  What then?

Back in the pioneer days of the United States, in the times of wagon trains and gold rushes, many farmers in the Midwest had a system set in case they got caught up in such a sudden storm while they were doing their chores.  During the winter seasons, they had clothes lines or wires tied to fence posts periodically on their land, and they knew how many steps in which direction to go in order to get to the next guidepost.  These guideposts saved the lives of many, as these blizzards could come up from the middle of nowhere in the blink of an eye and it could be mere minutes before everything was blanketed in a sheet of white, including their vision.  Many of those who managed to get turned around and confused in the tempest were often found dead mere yards from safety.  But blessed were the ones who were expected at home.

Sometimes, if someone were caught in the storm, a loved one may have gone out to weather the elements in order to help bring the trapped one home.  The winds could howl fiercely, deafening the cries for help from all but a few feet away.  As the one left the safety of the home to find the trapped one, they would stay within touching distance of the guidelines, often never taking a hand off in order to avoid being lost themselves.  Then, calling out and reaching blindly, they would find the lost and guide them lovingly back to the warm fire and to safety.

It wasn't easy for a person to leave the comfort of their own fire; in fact, it could be downright dangerous.  They could get frostbite themselves or, if they let go of the guidelines, get lost as well.  But they did it because they cared.  They did it because they wanted their family to be out of the dangers of the cold.

Life can be like that sometimes.  We see someone blindly losing their way and we have a choice:  we can go weather the storms to bring them back, or we can let them suffer out in the cold void.  We can try to help lead them to the truth even as they are wildly waving their arms defying the weather, calling out to them in hopes that they will grab hold of the lifeline. 

It's not always easy.  In fact, bringing the truth to light can often be painful for everyone involved, but its light does bring warmth, healing, and security.  It brings security in knowing that there are absolutes.  It reveals what can and cannot be hidden.  It reaches to the vast resources of one's soul.  And when you sit once again by the fire, you may still have traces of the cold.  You may still have frostbite wounds to remind you of the bitter cold.  But it's better than being lost or knowing that there is someone who is lost, alone, and suffering, maybe not even realizing it...because the extreme dangers of a blizzard come in that final numbing slumber that takes one into oblivion.  And if I can be a part of bringing someone in from that, then a lost finger or foot is worth the price.