Church All Week Down the Street

Last week ended up being so dangerously cold all school buses were cancelled most of the week.  It was strange to think that being outside for too long could actually kill you.  I even ended up cancelling a 40 minute trip into town to visit with my sister and mom on the coldest night of the year just to be safe.  What if the car broke down?  What if there was an accident?  I couldn't believe I had to think like that just because of the cold.

We ended up having a morning without water which didn't surprise us, but it did take a really long time to thaw.  It was very hard taking care of the animals, making sure they had water was the least fun activity.

The side benefit to all this was my children got a little time off school as their neighbours did, too.  Knowing they weren't in school was very hard for my kids, so we made some arrangements to connect.  What I wasn't expecting was the side benefit for me!

This same neighbour who got me out of my slump on Monday ended giving me what felt like a week-long vacation at her place.  We thought our dryer had started working and then it stopped again.  The good news is the part is so cheap and we'll get it this week up and running again, but in the meantime, in the cold, I found it so hard to get to the laundromat and my older kids were so busy it wasn't happening as often as I needed it....in steps my neighbour.....

It became the routine for the day.  She'd pick me up (I was car-less), a few of my kids and we'd all head to her place where she would fix me a gourmet coffee.  Then we'd throw in the laundry into her dryer.  Then we'd sit in front of the fireplace and talk for hours.  Sometimes she'd drive me home and drop off the little boys after dinner.

She'd often feed us and send snacks and food home with us just because she cared and was all about taking care of her neighbours up the street.  

As the week of coldness came to an end and I was thinking about church on the weekend coming up, I realized I had experienced church in the truest form all week.  Real church.  The church I think that is described in the Acts.  She was once again the epitome of the Christian described in Romans 12 where she "contributed to the needs of the saints and sought to do hospitality".  She considers herself a baby Christian, but I would argue she shows the marks of maturity compared to so many who would call themselves mature yet don't show this kind of fruit I was blessed by.

So much of our conversation was answering her questions regarding her husband's new faith.  I was even able to even sit together with him as they'd met with the pastor about baptism and had lots of questions about that, too.  It was amazing to talk with him and share how we'd prayed for him for so long.  What a special time it was.

All the while, my kids were making fast friends with theirs.  Their oldest boy and my son made a deal, "his hover board for our homeschool life".  He wishes he were homeschooled so badly!  Who knows, maybe one day!  She's open to it!  It's fun to have friends for the kids so close by.

So, I'm kind of sad the cold is over for now as even though it was awful, it was better than a week away in Florida.  It was my intense week of friendship, hospitality, coffee, laundry, visits, tears and prayers.  It was as if my batteries got recharged and I really only went less than 2 minutes down the road.  My kids will probably think they never have to do school again and I imagine it will be hard to get them on track this week.  They were blessed, too.  

No guy will ever understand how a week like that can be fun, helpful or even special in any way, but as women, she and I both felt so uplifted.  We knew we'd be given a gift and we treasured it.