The weather across the central U.S.A. states has been pretty exciting the last couple of days. Our family in Kansas is dealing with ice and snow and high winds. And, the family members in Illinois are getting much of the same after days of unusually high temperatures. Our little town of Pensacola spent this morning with tornado warnings and flooding waters threatening. It isn’t all that unusual. The transition from fall to winter can be rough.

John and I have been battling rain and wind throughout the Christmas holiday and today was no exception. We watched the weather forecast, made plans to avoid the storms as much as we could, and tried to make the best decisions possible. We are safe and sound and drying out tonight, but it has been a rough day.

Rather than making dinner for ourselves, we headed over to one of the South’s traditional fine dining establishments – Waffle House. For you who never been to a Waffle House, they always greet you with the wonderful aroma of waffles and syrup and where’s the bad in that? Tonight we had a delightful waitress who is new to the job. But she did well and we got lots of attention from her. The fact that there were only three diners there gave her lots of time to hone her customer service skills.

While we were waiting for our salads to arrive, John and I happened to notice the handiwork on the windows. There were huge letters with two animals. It wasn’t until John pointed it out to me that I understood what it all meant. At the beginning was an elephant and at the end was a tiger and in-between were the words “Roll Eagle.” For those not familiar with college football in the state of Alabama, the symbol for the University of Alabama is an elephant and their moto is “Roll Tide.” The mascot for Auburn University is a Tiger and their call is “War Eagle.” (OK, I have never understood the Eagle and Tiger connection – I just accept it.)

Apparently, the manager of this Waffle House in Alabama had found a compromise. Rather than favor one team over the other, the clever businessman took the middle ground. Instead of “Roll Tide” or “War Eagle”, he wrote “Roll Eagle.” Cute, but I’m betting that he satisfies no true fan of either team.

The weather recently has been a challenge. It is as if we are being torn between fall and winter and unhappy with this period of transition, of the middle ground. As a friend said today, “I would prefer the cold temperatures and snow over this crazy stuff.”

Taking the middle ground is not always the right thing to do. Sometimes, we need to make the right decision and stick with it and accept the pain it might bring.

So, as you “enjoy” this crazy time of weather and as we all listen to college football fans scream and holler over the next week or more, it might be a good time to consider our position on some issues. Maybe one of our New Years’ resolutions should be to make a decision and take a stand on that issue for which the middle ground isn’t only uncomfortable, it is wrong. Just a thought.

Love,

Jill (just one of God’s kids)

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth…Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. (Revelation 3:15-16, 19-20)