I live in the deep south now. But that was not always true. For a good part of my life I lived in the colder parts of these United States. And for most of those years I worked outdoors most every day.
Recently we were on a vacation touring around Lake Michigan and during that trip we were in the Upper Peninsula of that state. Driving around in that area where I lived for six years brought back memories of bitter cold days, temperatures of 30 degrees below 0. Memories of snow that fell in blankets up to three feet at a whack. And nights when my well or piping froze up being under my house with a propane torch. Mostly what I remember is just always being cold.
When I spent my first winter as an Ironworker I found out no matter how cold I was there were no clothes, gloves or boots that could keep me warm. At first, I tried lots of clothes. Long underwear with a wool shirt and a hooded sweatshirt. On the bottom, heavy jeans or Carhart pants. Regular socks, covered by a pair of heavy wool socks, inside a pair of Sorrell boots. Lastly a pair of thermal insulated coveralls. You ever see the movie “Christmas Story”? The little brother is dressed in so much winter clothes by his mother that he cannot lower his arms. Well that was me. I learned an important lesson; too much clothes make you sweat and next thing you know you are colder than if you had dressed for summer. The old-timers eventually taught me to dress in layers that let my body breathe, no matter I was still cold.
One day stands out more than any other. I lived through some 40 below days of the Upper Peninsula and 50 mile an hour winds howling out of the canyons of Utah. But the day I recall was in southern Indiana working 100’ above the Ohio River on the shady side of the Containment Building. I had started on the Marble Hill Nuke Plant in August, it was now January of the next year and so far, the winter had been mild.
Local folks had told me to wait for the winter days of January and February. They told tales of frozen rain and damp, biting fog that could cut through you like a knife. I would laugh. Man, I had just spent years working in the coldest, snowiest part of the country. Nothing Indiana could throw at me could be worse. Wrong! As they predicted the ice storms of January arrived. Ice so thick on the roads, not even a studded tire could keep a car traveling straight. But it was that fog, especially working right next to the river. I was being humbled by the weather again.
Even so I had survived until the day we were assigned to the east side of the building. In the morning as we climbed the stair tower, the sun was already up but nowhere to be seen. The fog was so thick we needed a beacon light on the mast of the crane to see where it was. By 10:00 AM it was no better and as we headed in for break my bones were already aching and I was so cold. After break it looked as though the fog was lifting. Hazy sunshine but not on our side of the building and now the breeze picked up off the river. Icy cold and stinging. By noon two of us had first degree frost bite (Sometimes called ‘Frostnip) on our fingers, I was one of those.
After being treated at the first-aid shack and being advised to go home, I did not. All I could think about is losing two hours pay. So up the tower I went. Three more guys had called it quits and the breeze was now filled with biting ice crystals. In an hour our foreman pulled all of us off. I had the beginnings of frost bite again.
At home that night, my body ached, my hands were swollen from the frost. I felt so cold I thought I would never feel warmth again. The crazy thing is I went to work the next day, hating life. Only to find I was re-assigned to a cad-welding crew, which meant I would be safe from the weather in a protected work area. I worked there the rest of the winter, but I have never forgotten that day.
Why do I tell you this story? I guess that I want people to know how wonderfully we are made! This old body has endured abuse at levels that should have stopped me years ago. Along with working in conditions where smart animals hibernate. I have heaped internal destruction on my vitals with gallons of booze and literally pounds of speed. Yet God has allowed me to still be here to tell you these stories. Not with the idea that I had anything to do with still hanging in here. But because He still has a purpose for this old carcass. And today I live in awe for what He has done.
I really like this verse, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life- not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. (2 Timothy 1:9) Wow! Do you see it? I haven’t just been saved but by His grace and through His purpose I have been called. And the crazy thing is I did absolutely nothing to deserve it. That is the kind of loving God we serve!
When I moved to the south a few years ago, everyone was telling me about the heat and how my life would be miserable. But when I am hot and sweaty, I think about that day on that scaffold, how cold I was. Bring on the heat! I am smiling as I write this today. God has been so good to me and if you will take a minute to think about it, He has blessed you too. So, if you are out in the cold today, away from the loving warmth of our Savior, take a minute to see all the good He has done. Think of the cross and know He did it all, no suffering we endure compares!
Blessings John,
8/29/18
