Sadly like an Icicle

Our friend, Heather Holleman likes icicles.  There’s no shortage of them here, now that it is warming a bit. 

For icicles to form, it has to be warm enough for the solid water to turn into liquid water, yet cold enough to re-freeze.  The liquid water responds to the tug of gravity.  It rushes down to the end of the icicle to escape back to the earth, from whence it came.

But, just as the liquid water has almost succeeded, the cold air sucks away enough heat for it to refreeze.  But another drop of liquid is right behind, and the cycle repeats.

Some of these icicles are about 2 meters long!

In a mix of liquid and solid water, like a glass of ice-water, this same process is going on, we just can’t see it happening.  In ice-water, some of the water is being frozen and other is being melted (which is why salt works when it isn't too cold).  If it is a hot day, more is melting than refreezing, but it is still happening.  If we put our ice-water in the freezer (or here, anywhere outside, most of the time), then whilst there is still some liquid it is doing this solid-liquid-solid dance heading towards solidarity.  Icicles exist because of this solid-liquid dance.

Icicles reminds me of my own Christianity dance.  Sometimes I am solid, sometimes liquid, but most of the time I am shifting continuously between the two.  I long for the day when I will be solid, never more wavering, never more shifting between my sinful self and my redeemed self.

I guess that’s one thing I have in common with Paul. (See Romans  6&7, especially 7:24-25).