Well, we had ourselves a little cold snap here in the mountains. The sub-freezing wind chills were pretty unusual.

Of course, some of us southerners were in a bit of a tizzy trying to make sure our homes were hunkered down for the big blast. Nary a loaf of bread or gallon of milk could be found. There was some talk on our neighborhood’s community facebook page about leaving sink cabinets open or water running, did all taps need to be on, did they need to be on full blast or just a drip, etc, to prevent pipes from freezing.

But here’s the thing: you can’t stop the pipes from freezing. The reason you drip the tap is to open the water line, so that if the water does freeze, it has a space to expand. It is not the ice on the pipes, but the radial pressure of the ice pushing against a pipe’s inner wall that causes damage.

Similarly, no matter how well we try to insulate our lives, difficult times will come to test our waters. Pressures will build. Some people will crack from the pressure that builds up inside them.

It doesn’t matter how much you insulate, one day it just might get so cold that the pipes freeze. And when that happens, you better have a way to find relief from the pressure.

All my longings lie open before You, Lord;
    my sighing is not hidden from You.
Lord, I wait for You;
    You will answer, Lord my God (Psalm 38:9, 15).

Open to God’s word in our hearts, open to God’s moving in our prayers, open to walking with Him each day. Because the frost will come and the pressures will build. I hope we will be found open.