It Was, It is, April

Wasn’t it great to look out your windows in the morning lately, here in the Northwest? The skies are now blue and the sun shines so brightly! It is the end of April and the rest of the month was dark, gloomy and cold, not at all like we anticipate April to be. It reminded me of an April when I was a girl about ten.

My dad was a pastor of four congregations. He usually held services every other week in the two smaller churches, But at Easter and Christmas, he held them at all four churches. So, after our family attended the 9:30 Easter worship, Mom and Dad headed out to the other three, armed with their lunch which would be eaten in one of the church’s pews. Mom had to go along because she played the organ at all of the churches. The weather was cold and dark.

They were eating their lunch when they noticed it had become quite windy outdoors and they decided to hurry to the next Church, but before they got there the snow was coming down crosswise because of the wind. Everyone was at the church when Mom and Dad got there, but by the time the worship hour was completed, there were at least two feet of snow on the ground. The worshipers were wondering how they could get home and they told Mom and Dad not to try to drive the distance they had to go to get home. My parents were worried about us kids who were home alone. I was the oldest child of three and I was only ten. They decided to try to make it home.

About an hour after they drove very slowly through the snow, the car slipped down a ditch and Dad was hurt. He felt he had broken some ribs and his arm. Mom went up on the road to see if anyone was coming, They ended up just sitting in the car. Two hours, or so later, a tractor came down the road. The guy who drove the tractor told Mom, who was standing outside the car, “I thought I would drive out a bit to see if anyone was stranded out here in the snow, and here you are.” Isn’t God wonderful?

The man took Mom and dad to his home where he got his horse and wagon ready and brought them home. Later, Dad got to the doctor and was fixed up. He did have two broken ribs but his arm was just hurt.

I guess we have had other times in April when the weather was bad, but I still think of April as flowers, sunshine and once in awhile warm showers, don’t you?