Beautiful Things Can Come From The Worst Storms

A month ago today…March 4, 2018. This turned out to be a very exciting day, in more ways than one.  This was the day that our kids were going to start on their journey to move to Oregon, yes Oregon!

I want to share the following story with you, so please join me:

The first “groupie” of the trip was taken, the Uhaul was loaded (to the gills), as were both kids cars, and Mom and Dad were as ready as we were going to get for them to be so far away. So, with Andrew and his travel companion, his dog Storm, in his car, Alex and me in her car and Mark in the pickup with the Uhaul bringing up the rear, off we went, what a caravan!

The actual drive time to our destination is 19 hours and 48 minutes, which is equal to 1,303 miles, so our plan was to make it to at least Idaho on Day 1 before stopping to find a room for the night.  Since March is still quite capable of producing some big storms, we had been keeping a close eye on the forecast for our route, after all, we are on a schedule and don’t need any surprises!

It had been decided that I would ride with Alex, at least the first day. She has been known (like me) to get tired while driving,   and so I said that I would help drive if needed. It was so fun! We talked, we sang, we acted silly, we laughed and of course, we drove… Of course there were stops for gas and bathroom breaks and a quick lunch. At somepoint after lunch, Alex asked if we could switch and I would drive. No problem!! After all, I had said I would right? All the while, still keeping an eye on the forecast.

If you’ve ever driven through Wyoming, you know that there are places where there are miles, and miles, and miles…and more miles between towns. We all filled up and we were back on the road again, Mom still behind the wheel. The day was starting to come to a close, the sun was beginning to set and the temperatures were falling.  The driving had been good all day, no rain and no snow…YES!! Just as the sun was almost gone, a few snowflakes started to fall, we kept driving and thankfully it stopped.

A week or so before the kids left Lincoln, Alex was driving to work and her car spun out on the interstate, it is a miracle that she was not hit and that she did not hit anyone. It is only fair that she is still a bit “gun shy” about slick roads. I have had my fair share of slick road incidents over the years and I avoid driving in snow or ice at all costs. I really can’t say that I know anyone who enjoys that type of driving, but some handle it better than others. You can be the most careful driver in the world, but you are not the only one on the road…they are the ones you should be worried about!

As we continue, as it goes in Wyoming, the roads are up and down and winding around and back, the snow comes again, road conditions begin to worsen, instead of being able to see all of the road, we see “tracks” and rightfully so, my Alex begins to get a bit anxious, as am I, but I can’t let on to her, she needs to remain calm so that I can. I am still behind the wheel so I reach over, pat her leg, tell her that we are still doing good and all will ok. I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince, her or me. I should also mention that at this point we are in an area where there was no cell reception.

We are somewhere between Green River and Evanston, our speeds have slowed to anywhere from 19 to 25 miles per hour, the tracks that I mentioned earlier have all but disappeared, the only way we knew that we knew we were still on the road was the semi in front of us, Andrew was several miles ahead of us, but we didn’t know where and with no cell service, there was no way of finding out. Thank God Mark was right behind us. I knew that if I could stay behind this semi and Mark could stay behind me, we would be fine.  The night was so dark, the snow was continuing to fall, and some of the other drivers didn’t know that there was a blizzard going on…flying by us like we were standing still, only making the anxiety levels rise.

We had watched the forecast all day and did not see this any where on the radar, and yet, here it was…a storm, that we were not prepared for! Isn’t that how it usually is?? About then, the semi that I was following, pulls off the road a bit…Oh. My. God! What do I do? Should I keep going? Should I pull over too? What do I do?! I decide to keep going… there is no one guiding me, I am guiding us…this was a definite “Jesus take the wheel” moment if ever there was one!! Alex says that she thinks I am heading towards the edge of the road (if I go to the edge of the road, there is nothing on the other side of us, it drops off) and I tell her that I think we are fine…No mom, we aren’t fine! Stop the car!…I can’t just stop the car in the middle of the road…YOU’RE NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD MOM, STOP THE CAR!!! I noticed a road sign to the right of us, I proceeded to stop next to the sign. Mark pulls in behind me, Alex got out of the car,  ran through the drifts to Mark to ask what to do. If I had my way, we would have stayed right there until morning, but I knew that was not going to be an option.

Alex came back. We noticed that the semi we had been following was coming up behind us…Mark said to pull out and get back behind him and just follow him…Thank You Jesus! I get in right behind him and Mark gets in behind me. Whew!! I think we are going to be fine, as long as I don’t lose this semi, and dear God, please don’t let Mark lose me!

Oh No!!! My wipers are starting to ice over, my visibility is compromised, and that is putting it mildly! Alex notices that my breathing has changed and I am beginning to panic. She firmly tells me that I am not allowed to “do this” yet..she knows me very well and she knew I was starting to lose it! I turn to her and tell her  about the wipers and that I can’t see. She looks at me and very calmly says: “I can. You control the gas and the break pedals and I will steer the car.” WHAT?!?!

We are 13 miles from Evanston…13 miles, in weather conditions like that, 13 miles could be an hour, or more!! With the defrost blowing at full blast, wet snow coming down on us, no clue where Andrew is, and other drivers oblivious to our anxiety, I am behind the wheel, with only 50% control…Alex has the other 50%. I keep asking her if she is sure she can see (she is “bobbing” up and down) and she assures me that she can (Jesus take the wheel).

Alex is telling me when to slow down, if I need to speed up in order to not lose our “guide” (the semi), and oh yeah, let me know if some one is going to pass us!! This is not a good idea, but what choice do we have?! The time finally comes when I see the Evanston exit, I was never so relieved in my life, except when we pull into the first gas station we see and I see Andrew’s  car!!! THANK YOU JESUS!! The only thing that would have made me happier at that moment was if that semi would have exited with us so that I could have given him a hug and thanked him, but he didn’t, he continued. I will always be grateful to him, I truly believe that if it were not for him, Alex and I probably would not be here.

So it was Evanston where we stayed, not Idaho.  We found a hotel, we were safe, we were warm and we were together. Nothing else mattered for that night. We had decided that we would not leave until daylight had come, that and we had gone to Walmart to get new wiper blades!

Storms, literal or figurative, are a fact of life, and most of them, just like this one, come when you least expect them! These are given to us in order to learn something, sometimes they change us, hopefully for the good, but I know unfortunately, that is not always the case. Alex and I were meant to go through that storm together. It was only together that we made it through, I could not have made it through with out her, and I think she needed me too, we needed each other to weather the storm. We all need someone who is willing to go through storms with us don’t we, and for them we should be grateful!

As for the literal storm that we drove through on March 4, 2018, if we never have to do that again, that would be too soon. Early the next morning, Mark woke me up to ask me why I was crying…what is wrong …I was crying in my sleep, and all I could say to him was: “I couldn’t see!” I’m not too proud to say that this has happened even since we’ve been back home. It will take a while to get over this one…but I know that I have someone to help me overcome.

”For God has not given us a SPIRIT OF FEAR, but of POWER and of LOVE and of a SOUND MIND.” ~2 Timothy 1:7