The winter of 2007 was a mild one; or so it seemed. By mid-February, I hadn’t yet had the need to use my snow blower even once. But that’s when ol’ man winter finally began to show himself and it finally started to snow.

It wasn’t much at first, and 12 hours later our driveway still didn’t have enough snow on it to warrant shovelling. It wasn’t over yet however, and the persistent sprinkling of white dandruff throughout the rest of the day succeeded in transforming the driveway into an impossible barrier.

I was excited. My snow blower could finally make its first appearance of the season! I worked over it for half an hour before my persistence paid off and it roared into life; then equipped with heavy gloves, a Russian-looking winter hat and a winter coat, I put the machine into gear. Flop … flop … flop … flop … It wouldn’t move! Perturbed, I checked the tires. Both were flatter than pancakes covered with maple syrup! Oh no! What should I do?

“I’ll take them into town on my way back from picking the kids up from their music lessons,” suggested my brave wife.

That sounded good to me, the only problem was how to get the car out of the driveway! Much heavy manpower later (my poor back!), she and the two pancakes were on their way. Unfortunately her trek was not a successful one: “Walmart was open, but its automotive department wasn’t,” she explained. “The same was true for Canadian Tire.”

I sighed. At least we had tried! We would have to wait until the next day to get the tires fixed.

The snow continued throughout the night, and by the next morning the driveway was impassable. I really wanted to go to church, but I wasn’t sure how we would get the car out. And if we couldn’t get the car out, how would we fix the tires? And if we couldn’t fix the tires, how would we clean the driveway? And . . .

I didn’t need to have worried so much. By the time I was awake enough to keep my eyes propped open with clothespins, I noticed some movement in the driveway. As I stepped closer to the window for a better look, I saw that the “superboys” had been at work. A narrow path, extending from one of the garage doors to the street, had been cleared!

Now believe me, this was no small task! Our driveway looks like a highway! You wouldn’t believe its length and width! But because of “superboys”, we were able to make it to church on time. We were also able to bring our deflated, syrupy pancakes to Canadian Tire!

This is where the next problem arose. The service man at Canadian Tire wasn’t too optimistic: “Sorry guys! We are booked solid for the day! We won’t be able to take care of your tires!”

“But…”

“Sorry, we cannot help you!”

You can be assured that all four of us were praying for a miracle. We were sure that “Superboys” wouldn’t be back to clean the REST of the driveway!

Suddenly we noticed movement on our right. One of the repairmen had overheard our plight, and turning to the manager, he said: “I can do it, boss. I’m ahead of schedule and as long as these tires just need air, it won’t take me more than five minutes.”

While our chins dropped to the store’s dirty floor in amazement, our two pancakes were whisked away for a quick adrenaline fill. In fact, we had barely recovered a “normal” mouth posture when they returned as rolled-up, fat porcupines-without the spines, that is! However our jaws made another quick trip to the floor when the mechanic said, “No charge!” Only with the help of a wheelbarrow were we able to close our mouths and head for home.

We were so appreciative of that mechanic that we made sure our driveway was “supercleared”. He would have been proud to discover that we had the clearest driveway in the entire neighborhood!

Had we relied on our usual complaining and “sourpussing”, our weekend would have turned into a bitter and disappointing experience. However by taking one positive step at a time, by relying on God’s mercy, the situation had turned into an opportunity for laughter, thankfulness, cooperation and companionship.

Remember: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor 9:8 NIV); and “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7 NIV)

“Paaaaapaaaa! The roof caved in!”

On dear, sounds serious! Should I get worried, or should I pray?

P. S. Do you know any cheap roof rebuilders?

Rob Chaffart