The Winter Storm is Almost Here

The howling wind woke me up. I could hear things blowing around on our back patio where Terri has assembled a small kitty condo for the feral family that grazes in our backyard. Dots and her numero uno offspring BW have only ever known our backyard as their home base. Yes, we feed homeless cats. Sorry, not sorry. Terri and I both love animals. I grew up with a menagerie of dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, and ponies—and a Canadian goose.

I let out a loud rumbling sneeze and our cats scatter. Rice leaps from my lap and scoots into the master bedroom. Terri says that I am Rice’s human.

It’s a beautiful thing to be someone’s human.

But I digress…

Among a myriad of other things, I am a bit of a weather geek. The weather has fascinated me since my early childhood when I experienced my first snow in Switzerland. I remember—albeit vaguely—tromping around the white snow in my red rubber snow boots (At least that’s the picture that comes to mind).

I remember my Dad making a snowman in the blizzard of 1978 that covered our ten acre mini-ranch with a dirty blanket of white snow.

Weather in Texas is always interesting.

It’s not unusual for us to experience four seasons in the span of a week, or to experience record-setting heat in the same calendar year that we see bone-chilling temperatures in the winter. Terri and I have witnessed tornadoes in May and December and every month in between—along with a few hurricanes and out of control wildfires. One of the things I love most about Texas is the crazy weather.

As a kid, growing up in the Ark-La-Tex—I loved watching weatherman Ed Duranczyk on the local evening news broadcast out of Shreveport. Marshall is nestled between Longview, Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana as you drive along Interstate 20 .

During my radio years, I got to broadcast the weather forecast and weather certainly played a big role in my life in the restaurant business.

No doubt the weather plays a significant role in your life as well.

As important and interesting as weather has been throughout my life, I’ve never been as weather conscious as I have become since joining the Dallas homeless discipleship ministry OurCalling.

Weather has become a big part of how we do ministry. In the brutally hot Texas Summer we try to help our friends living on the streets beat the heat. In the freezing Winter, we try to help our unsheltered friends brave the bitter cold and chilly temperatures from Arctic storms, like the one blowing into Dallas as I sit here and watch my thumbs type words on my small screen.

What is inclement weather service like?

Imagine a big, big room—50,000 square feet—-and inviting hundreds of your friends—a colorful crowd from diverse backgrounds and stories too wild to believe. You coordinate an unbelievable amount of food and other resources and then you invite more friends to come serve hot meals, handout emergency changes of clothes, pray with those who are hurting—including yourself—play sheriff when it comes to settling disputes, shepherd your co-laborers and collaborators, make more decisions in ten minutes than you ever thought possible, while being blown away by God’s goodness as you are simultaneously ripped apart by the brokenness engulfing every fiber of your being.

The words “Clean up on aisle four…” won’t ever mean the same to you.

I have the pictures and scars to prove it. Inclement Weather Service exhausts you spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. But not in a terrible way. No, more in the way that I imagine the Disciples felt wandering around with Jesus and watching him do mind-blowing miracles, healing the hurting, exorcising demons, sharing the Good News, and loving people exceptionally well—even as they nailed his body to the Cross. There is not a part of you that doesn’t hurt when you’re done.

To serve or not to serve?

That’s the big question. To live out the Christian faith requires making lots of decisions—most of all—will you follow Jesus?

Join me in praying that God would provide us people, resources, stamina and strength to do this in a manner befitting of the God we serve. We want opportunities to share the Good News in our words and deeds—to our guests and one another.

May God be glorified.

With abundant blessings,

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™