Let It Show!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Ok, so I'm a day late. And that is not a typo in my title. This is my second Christmas as a married woman and I'm spending it away from my husband. No, it's not why you might think; no one's in the doghouse, but I'll explain that a little later.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. The Lower Mainland and elsewhere across the country have been inundated with white stuff falling from the sky since last Wednesday. It has wreaked havoc on the roads and almost every driver has been affected. All I can say is drive with caution and a smile on your face. On the first day of snowfall, I got stuck on the road twice, but it was fluffy snow, so I wasn't stuck per se, but only slipping in a stationary position. I just had to keep my wits about me and be patient. Eventually I got freed both times and continued home safely.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. My sister-in-law and her husband (whom I'll refer to as Dr.'s, which they both are) were scheduled to leave Toronto at about 5pm EST on Dec. 23rd. They decided to take an earlier flight to ensure that they would make the connecting flight in Calgary, but their flight was delayed and Dr.'s had to wait in the airport for hours. Eventually they left Toronto, but they missed their connecting flight in Calgary. Now Dr.'s were stranded in Calgary and while trying to find another flight to Abby, Westjet gave vouchers for their customers to stay in a hotel. After only getting about three hours of sleep, at best, Dr.'s were back at the airport. This time, they were able to find a flight to Abby, but again that flight was delayed. Hours later, the inevitable happened: the flight had been cancelled and the Dr.'s scrambled to find other flights. My poor sister-in-law and her husband prepared to spend X'mas in the Calgary Airport. Determined, however, Dr.'s managed to secure a flight that would take them to Vancouver and we crossed out fingers that they would get here before Christmas. Just before midnight (PST) on Christmas Eve, Dr.'s touched down at YVR. God answered our prayers and Dr.'s finally arrived in time for Christmas, exhausted and sick of airport food, but here safe and sound nonetheless. Thank God! God answered our prayers in another way, too. It snowed and snowed, but when we found out that Dr.'s were on the airplane to Vancouver, it stopped snowing! So, the drive from Mission to Vancouver was less dangerous than if it had been done in the snow. Here's where I explain why I'm away from my husband. Because of the snow, I wasn't sure how possible it was for me to see my family this Christmas, but since Dr.'s were arriving in Vancouver instead of in Abbotsford as originally planned, this presented an opportunity for me to see my family. Before D drove to the airport, he dropped me off at my parents' place. D drove his sister back to Mission and they spent Christmas with his family. Then the snow came again and made travel difficult. That is why I am spending Christmas away from my husband. I miss him lots.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it SHOW. Love and kindness was shown to me and my husband in ways we didn't think of. The night we found out Dr.'s were going to make it, D and I went to his dad's house to use his dad's car to drive his sister home. D drove his RSX with all-season tires, but despite their triple treads, traction control was nil as we tried to make it up a small hill. Walking to his dad's house from where we got stuck would take far less time than the time we used to push his car. For about 5-10 minutes, I tried to push the car while D drove (I can't drive stick). We made very little progress. The first person to come by was a driver who stopped his car behind us and waited. It turned out that we were blocking his driveway and as soon as we somehow made it past his house, he drove into his driveway, looked at us, and walked away. As I pushed, I prayed to God to give me strength. In my mind, I was hoping for some superhuman burst of strength that would propel D's car out of the rut we were in. But, God had other plans. His answer to my prayer for strength came in the form of about fifteen people who stopped their cars (partly because we were blocking the road) and got out to help. Some of them may even have left the comfort of their homes to help, too. I was worried that someone would slip and get hurt just trying to help us, as one girl did fall down, but I was so grateful to have so many people help. As we all pushed and got the car going, one guy cried out, "Merry Christmas!" and we all chuckled. We looked like a bobsled team, pushing the vehicle from the sides and back and eventually D's car was moving. They let go and then just at the place where we had to turn, D's car got stuck again. So, I ran to catch up, but this time a whole new set of people, who had been watching our escapade from the top of the hill, came together to push D's car with me. This didn't take too much more effort and we were on our way again. Then when we got stuck in front of D's parents' driveway, their neighbours came out to shovel the snow out of the way for us and the whole ordeal finally ended when D parked his car in the garage.

Other acts of kindness I've encountered included a neighbour using his snow-blower to help us clear our driveway (maybe as a result of us helping him push his car into his garage when it got stuck earlier, but he was a nice guy anyway) and another neighbour using his own motorized snow plower to take his kid out for a ride and plowing the snow off the sidewalks in our neighbourhood in the process. On the news, a guy who was shoveling his sidewalk in North Vancouver noticed a large Save-on-Foods truck struggling to get to the top of the hill, so this guy used his shovel and quickly shoveled all the snow away from the tires as the truck moved up the hill slowly. He never got a verbal thanks, but I'm sure he knew that the driver was very grateful for this small, but kind gesture.

Snow has made things a little difficult and inconvenient, but it would never stop the neighbourly love that many people have shown. Yes, there are a few people who are apathetic or even take advantage of the situation and worsen it for some people, but the news rarely show the many more good things that happen on a daily basis. I hope you have been shown kindness and that God has answered your prayers this holiday season, too.

Have a very merry and safe Christmas!