The thing of fire

brrrr....it's a chilly 12 degrees outside. As I try to get my coal stove burning hot this morning, I've learned a few things about myself:

1) I enjoy a challenge. This morning, the challenge involved adding coal to my stove without smothering the fire, so my house would warm up quickly. Other challenges in life aren't always so straightforward or simple. (What about when I'm not connecting well relationally with someone and the challenge is to keep loving them? Do I enjoy it then? hmmmm...)

2) I have a tendency to get anxious. I want things and answers and solutions and progress and results and movement (and a warm house) without the waiting and hoping and working and struggling and trying and failing and hoping again. Working to get my fire going strong has finally produced results - my house is warming. (How easy has it become to focus on the struggles or the problems that seem to be unsolvable...in my Appalachian community or in my own life...)

3) I don't mind asking for help. I called my friend Lacy for his advice on making the fire burn hotter, and he gave me some great tips. He's the kind of friend who would help me out any time I needed it, no matter what. And he has, countless times. I can't imagine living in McDowell County without him. I think my self-sufficient tendencies are slowly changing. And this is a good thing.

4) I love celebrating. My house is warm - I think that's cause for a party (maybe a 'drink coffee and read a good book' party, but a party nonetheless). I need to celebrate the good, small things in life more. A warm house, a faithful friend, a good cup of coffee, a phone call to my sister, a day to relax...