Water Ice

I can hear the scrape of the spoon against the water ice.
My son got his wisdom teeth extracted.
For the first four hours after oral surgery, he can only have cold, soft foods.
Cool broth, juice, Gatorade, applesauce, jello…
Water ice.

Watermelon is the flavor he requested.
Watermelon it is!
The coldness of the water ice must feel very soothing going down.
Delicious therapy.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother lived in the city.
Around the corner from her house was a water ice store.
A Mom and Pop store with the quintessential, squeaky screen door.

I knew I was getting older when I was aloud to walk around the corner by myself.
A rite of passage.
Carry my own money…make my own selection.

I can still see the glass case with the large cardboard tubs of homemade water ice.
Colors so bright they stayed on your lips and tongue for hours afterwards.
I bypassed the cherry, the orange, the lemon…and went right for the chocolate.
Chocolate water ice.

The water ice was scooped by one of the owner’s sons.
A ice cream scoop and a lot of muscle power was needed to serve the customers.
The water ice was served in paper water cooler cups.
You had to eat your water ice very quickly, or else it would drip out of the bottom.

Sometimes, letting the water ice melt was the perfect thing to do on a hot day.
You could raise the cup and put the point on the tip of your tongue.
Everyone liked drinking the water ice juice…as we called it.

The sound of the screen door was the only way the family knew they had a customer.
They were always in the back room with large syrup bottles and lots of crushed ice.
There are still water ice and frozen yogurt stores today.
However, the simplicity of the corner store, where everyone knew each other, is missed.

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, “Fall on the earth,” and to the rain shower, “Be a mighty downpour.” So that all men He has made may know His work, He stops every man from his labor. The animals take cover; they remain in their dens. The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters His lightning through them. At His direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands them.
(Job 37:5-12)

The family made water ice in the back room.
Our freezers have ice makers to make ice cubes.
We can make our own popsicles from juice poured into cups or ice cube trays.
God’s Word says that the breath of God produces ice.

How I like that!

When a small child is afraid of a thunder storm, parents try to comfort them.
Explanations like…God is moving furniture in heaven.
Some may criticize that kind of simplistic explanation.

The poetry of God’s Word includes that kind of imagery.
God’s voice thunders…His breath produces ice…He fills His hands with lightning.
(Job 37:5,10 and Job 36:32)

Poetry.
Truth.
Truth that any child could understand.

The water ice was delicious therapy for my son.
God’s Word is poetic truth for us.
Poetry that touches both our hearts and our minds…so that we know Him fully.

Truth that any child could understand…and that child would be us!