Fort Calgary
After days of constant rain, we were relieved to finally awaken to a glimpse
of sunshine. Hooray! We would enjoy a great vacation day outdoors!
We drove away from our sun-bathed campsite in Banff, singing praise songs with
the Newsboys (you didn't know they were our personal friends?), but as we
bypassed Calgary on our way to see Bar U Ranch National Historic Site, we were
greeted by an unwelcome sight: The sun was rapidly disappearing behind a thick
layer of gray!
After the last days of constant rain, we had become somewhat accustomed to
visiting places in wet conditions, so we decided to not let the upcoming wet
weather deter us. We did put on an extra sweatshirt when we arrived at our
destination however, for the temperatures had dropped with the disappearance of
the sun.
We enjoyed our visit thoroughly, but by the time we finished exploring the
multitude of different barns and farm equipment, the sun had once again come out
from behind the clouds, bringing with it a wave of heat. As we peeled off our
sweatshirts, we couldn't help but wonder how bears could stand living in Alberta
. . .
When we drove away from the Bar U Ranch, we noticed that there wasn't a cloud in
the sky. We were excited! Surely this meant it would be sunny for the rest of
the day!
We found a Canadian Superstore on our way back to Calgary. Before leaving for
her conference in Banff that morning, my wife had given me a grocery list a mile
long, and though there didn't seem to be anything necessarily "Super" about this
particular Superstore, we knew that we would be able to shorten the list
considerable. And we did. We found everything on my wife's list except refried
beans. (But then, maybe this was a good thing? Perhaps it helped to prevent us
from becoming the "background music"?)
When we exited the store, we were greeted with heavy downpour. Where on earth
had THAT come from???
Our next stop was Fort Calgary. We didn't realize it at the time, but you can
visit the remains of the real fort for free, by taking a little hike behind the
museum. Instead, we paid the entrance price and toured the museum. When we
finished our tour of the past, the sun was shining again, and we drove all the
way back to Banff bathing in the luxury of the welcome sunlight.
I had been told that Alberta had unpredictable weather patterns. You can be
sunbathing in tropical weather without a cloud in sight, and all of a sudden you
will find yourself in the midst of a downpour. In fact, it was said that if you
like weather-related adventure, go to Alberta! For us, the real adventure was to
know how to dress for any particular day. There was only one weather fact that
didn't change the entire time we were in Banff. It got COLD at night!
People can be just like the weather in Alberta. One day they can be cool and the
next day they can be warm. Some change from hour to hour, and some change from
minute to minute. It's not easy to predict how people will treat you, but one
thing is for sure: God loves them all, so much that His only begotten Son died
so that everyone could experience eternal bliss!
You may be an undesirable hard-core criminal with sins that would make anyone's
hair stand straight up on end; however no sin of yours, no matter how
despicable, will hinder God from loving you. God wants you to be His friend.
Will you let Him? Will you be hot for His friendship or will you be frigidly
cold? Why not welcome Him with open arms, and always remember: "For God so loved
the world (that includes you, unless you live on an another planet that I don't
know off) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NIV)
I wonder what the weather will be like today. Any ideas?
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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