When Walter checked the highway conditions and weather forecast this morning, it confirmed what we had heard:  no road trip to Winnipeg for us!
The wind howled and the temperatures had dropped in the past day or so.  And when we heard that the Trans-Canada had been closed, we knew for sure that our plans were changed.  So we went on with our Tuesday and let our staff member, Vera, know that we would have to postpone our visit with her.  She understood!  She's a prairie woman and knows the power of winter!
This gave me a chance to get some Christmas shopping done and to wrap a few presents.  I also took a nap in the afternoon as I felt a cold coming on.  An unexpected blessing was that I could participate in the ladies group windup supper so I didn't have to cook tonight.  Bonus!
I caught a ride with our friend and coworker, Gwen, and it was nice to catch up on family and Christmas plans before joining the other ladies at the restaurant.  In the back room of Ricky's on north Albert, a half dozen chatting women plus one adorable baby boy, Ezekiel, welcomed us.  A casual evening of visiting, eating and playing the Chinese gift exchange game was a relaxing windup event.
As Gwen pulled up to our place, I smiled at the twinkling, ever-changing light display on our house.  I had bought Walter one of those LED light units that just sit on a peg in the ground.  No lights to untangle or string up on the eaves.  And the effect of green and red rotating sparkles gave our home the festive look without the hassle.  Yeah, Walmart!
As I look back on the day, I'm not sure how I saw God at work.  I am not overwhelmed by some great and powerful plan as our travel plans were affected by winter weather.  But I can honestly say I am thankful for His presence in my life, in our family's comings and goings, and in the everyday of our ministry life.
This Friday, we have "plans" to travel to Alberta for 3 or 4 days.  We have a supporting church to share in and staff to visit (whom we haven't seen since last summer or even longer).  The Lord is our guide and we hold our itinerary loosely as He superintends all our plans with His purpose.
Proverbs has a couple verses specifically about this.
Chapter 16:9  "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
Chapter 19:21 "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Lessons like this are learned and relearned as we follow Him.
Good night, all!