December 23rd, 2025

Dear Friends,

The idea made both practical and logical sense. That should have been my first warning.

I once had a neighbour who said, “Why do something manually when there is a tool for that?” While I don’t always agree with that (I’m a contrarian, after all.), I’d say that it has strongly influenced my development as a handyman.

Thus, I looked at the time of year, the predictions for a good deal of snow this winter, and the fact that I don’t really like shovelling snow all that much. Why shovel snow when you can buy a blower that will create nozzle speeds of 193 km/hr? On top of that, I already possessed the 40 volt battery necessary to power this beast so that I only needed to buy the tool itself, at half the price. As an added bonus, I had a small gift certificate for Home Depot which would take a few dollars more off the price. It was a “no brainer.” I bought the blower. Then, I waited for the next snow.

Two days later, it happened — snow and blowing snow; wind that snarled traffic and air traffic. Then it stopped. I rushed to the garage, hooked the battery to the new tool and, with hope in my heart, I headed out to take on the elements. And the blower blew. It blew with incredible force. In fact there was so much force that the snow went everywhere and it took me three times as long to clear things than it would if I had just shovelled instead. Additionally, the battery was emptied (which I expected). However, when I put it on the charger, an error code was displayed. The battery had overheated (how that’s possible in -20o Celsius while blowing snow, I’ll never know) and now wouldn’t charge. The next day, I took the blower back. I’m still trying to fix the battery.

There are things that don’t work in each of our lives and also the collateral damage that results, unplanned, from that failure. We long for things to just work the way they should, for life to be progressing rather than stumbling. That longing finds expression in phrases like, “If only…” or “I wish that …” or “Why did …” or “Maybe next time …” We can live with the imperfect because we have to, but we don’t have to like it or accept it. Part of us wants the perfect.

That is the hoping and waiting of Advent. This “weary world” has no lasting products, let alone lasting answers. We need a “fix” from outside the system. We long for that fix. We wait for that fix. And now, in a few days, we celebrate that fix and the hope that he is with us and that he is coming for us to finally set all things right.

I’ll never get the perfect blower but I will get the room prepared for me by my Saviour as I make room for him to rule my life this Christmas and all year through. I need this reminder to keep hoping for the one Paul calls “the blessed hope.”

Blessings!

Doug