Image attributed to "The Back Roads Girl"
Well our January thaw for the Drift-less region is officially over. Sun and warmth (if you can call 42* warmth) has fled to the South leaving us in its wake a mere 4* for this mornings chores. Before the next 24 hours comes to a close we shall see temperatures in the below -0 catagory.
More wood for the wood stove, more hay for the horses, an extra heat lamp for the chickens, a warm flannel shirt for Mr. Flanagan to wear over long underwear, and a bit more bird seed in the bird feeders for our wild feathered friends will be good preparation to keep all warm.
We are so fortunate to have warmth of all kinds. Miles and miles of years separate us from the days in which all we had was wood or coal for heat, and keeping warm meant one had to invest a vast amount of physical labor to survive. There really was not the romaticized charm we seem to place upon an old pioneer log home. We capture images of a toasty fire burning; this same fire warms the hearth along with the day's stew thereby heating the entire room. Unfortunately this painted, or postcard image is most likely far from the truth.
If you were to travel back 125 years and enter that log home you could probably expect a drafty cold house with snow on the bed, no glass in the windows, and maybe two rooms. One room for the bedroom and the other for every other life function from cooking, eating, spinning, mending, and weaving to mending harnesses, and sharpening and oiling tools. Images of more than one in a bed come to mind as folks tended to sleep together for warmth; half the heads would be on the pillows at the head of the bed and half the heads would be on the pillows at the foot of the bed.
I guess one could say there are many ways to find warmth of every kind. It goes without saying that warmth can easily be found in 2013 by an effortless turn of the thermostat dial or adding another log to the outdoor wood stove. Thrift stores and rummage sales, department stores and clothes closets all hold warmth of all kinds from fleece jackets to down-filled coats. Scarves, hats, mittens, and gloves are mass produced and modified to stand up to all kinds of cold temperatures. We no longer have to labor for our warmth as we did once upon a time.
But what of warmth of another kind; one we do not think of when we first ponder the word "warmth"? I am speaking of the warmth of kindness.
Ephesians 4:32 "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
It seems to me that not only have we lost the old ways of keeping warmth, we have also as a people seemingly lost the art of kindness. Now I cannot lump each one of us into that statement, but there is something to be said for today's society and lost kindnesses. The kind act that one does even if no one sees. The kindness that does not expect a kindess in return. How about the kindness of a simple hello or a smile?
Not long ago we found out some elderly friends the next town over were both suffering from terrible colds. It was not a chore to pull out a bit more chicken from the freezer and opt to create a HUGE pot of homemade chicken noodle soup to share with our friends. Slowly the soup simmered in my great big stew pot on the stove until just the right amount of seasoning infiltrated the contents. Then about 4 in the afternoon we took a drive over to their home hot soup in hand, hoping to provide them with a warmth of the healing kind. Well you would have thought we brought them the moon! Over and over again they talked of how nice it was of us to bring them some homemade chicken noodle soup. They almost seemed surprised...as if it was a kindness one just does not see or do anymore.
What a pity that our society has become so socially based; many of us now only see "friends" upon a computer screen. How sad that we have lost touch with such a simple act of a visit and some homemade soup. What can you do to rekindle warmth of all kinds? Well in the words of Winn Collier I quote, "...look for fresh opportunities to love, for new ways to extend undeserved kindess." We just might have to move outside of our computer screen and learn how to b
More wood for the wood stove, more hay for the horses, an extra heat lamp for the chickens, a warm flannel shirt for Mr. Flanagan to wear over long underwear, and a bit more bird seed in the bird feeders for our wild feathered friends will be good preparation to keep all warm.
We are so fortunate to have warmth of all kinds. Miles and miles of years separate us from the days in which all we had was wood or coal for heat, and keeping warm meant one had to invest a vast amount of physical labor to survive. There really was not the romaticized charm we seem to place upon an old pioneer log home. We capture images of a toasty fire burning; this same fire warms the hearth along with the day's stew thereby heating the entire room. Unfortunately this painted, or postcard image is most likely far from the truth.
If you were to travel back 125 years and enter that log home you could probably expect a drafty cold house with snow on the bed, no glass in the windows, and maybe two rooms. One room for the bedroom and the other for every other life function from cooking, eating, spinning, mending, and weaving to mending harnesses, and sharpening and oiling tools. Images of more than one in a bed come to mind as folks tended to sleep together for warmth; half the heads would be on the pillows at the head of the bed and half the heads would be on the pillows at the foot of the bed.
I guess one could say there are many ways to find warmth of every kind. It goes without saying that warmth can easily be found in 2013 by an effortless turn of the thermostat dial or adding another log to the outdoor wood stove. Thrift stores and rummage sales, department stores and clothes closets all hold warmth of all kinds from fleece jackets to down-filled coats. Scarves, hats, mittens, and gloves are mass produced and modified to stand up to all kinds of cold temperatures. We no longer have to labor for our warmth as we did once upon a time.
But what of warmth of another kind; one we do not think of when we first ponder the word "warmth"? I am speaking of the warmth of kindness.
Ephesians 4:32 "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
It seems to me that not only have we lost the old ways of keeping warmth, we have also as a people seemingly lost the art of kindness. Now I cannot lump each one of us into that statement, but there is something to be said for today's society and lost kindnesses. The kind act that one does even if no one sees. The kindness that does not expect a kindess in return. How about the kindness of a simple hello or a smile?
Not long ago we found out some elderly friends the next town over were both suffering from terrible colds. It was not a chore to pull out a bit more chicken from the freezer and opt to create a HUGE pot of homemade chicken noodle soup to share with our friends. Slowly the soup simmered in my great big stew pot on the stove until just the right amount of seasoning infiltrated the contents. Then about 4 in the afternoon we took a drive over to their home hot soup in hand, hoping to provide them with a warmth of the healing kind. Well you would have thought we brought them the moon! Over and over again they talked of how nice it was of us to bring them some homemade chicken noodle soup. They almost seemed surprised...as if it was a kindness one just does not see or do anymore.
What a pity that our society has become so socially based; many of us now only see "friends" upon a computer screen. How sad that we have lost touch with such a simple act of a visit and some homemade soup. What can you do to rekindle warmth of all kinds? Well in the words of Winn Collier I quote, "...look for fresh opportunities to love, for new ways to extend undeserved kindess." We just might have to move outside of our computer screen and learn how to b
RSS Feed
