Safe and Warm

Life is never boring! At least, my life isn't. For those of you who don't live in the upstate of South Carolina, we had a major snow storm come through yesterday. It was like none I have ever seen before. This one was complete with heavy winds and eerie blue lightning.

Jason and I were at my sister's house yesterday afternoon, just hanging out until church. Shortly after 5:00, the snow began to fall. By 5:30, it had already accumulated on the trees, grass, and roads. We called our pastor and asked about the evening service. He said he wasn't sure, so we agreed to meet him at the church since it was on our way home anyway.

We were the only ones who showed up. (Everyone else was smart!) By the time we left, which was only 20 minutes later, the ground was completely covered and the visibility was not good at all. Despite my better judgment, we went home the back way since we were in The Beast (that's the nickname for his big, ugly 4x4 Bronco, which has NO heat, I might add).

We had not gotten far before we came upon two vehicles that were stuck and couldn't make it up the hill. We pulled one guy up while another truck stopped and helped the other. Shortly after that, we pulled into a gas station to make sure we had plenty of fuel and to clean off the windshield which was covered with icy snow.

Just a couple of miles down the road, we were going down a hill and noticed a long string of oncoming traffic that seemed to be stopped. The people in the lead car had heard the sound of a breaking tree. Unfortunately, we didn't. We did see it as it fell 15 feet in front of us, and then we saw it VERY closely as we slid into it. OUCH! Some people jumped out of their cars to make sure we were okay. We were fine, just shaken. The Beast, however, has a few minor injuries.

Jason and some of the other men went to work cutting up the huge pine tree and dragging it off the road so that the endless line of traffic could pass. (Thankfully, Jason had his chainsaw with him.) I sat in the truck and shivered while they were about their work.

Red-faced and soaking wet, Jason got back in the abused Bronco, and we made it another mile or so before we ran into another line of traffic. This time I was on the lookout for falling trees. Whatever was blocking the road was a good half mile ahead of us, and from what we could gather, it was a power pole. Assuming we would be there a while, we decided to turn back and see if we could go around it. Believe it or not, that actually worked. (Yeah, I'm surprised, too.)

We made our way home, peering through a foggy windshield that was again covered with icy snow. We inched through dark intersections, all the while praying that we would have power at our house. We did! (Another shocker!)

I honestly don't think I've ever been so glad to get home in my life. The trip from church to our house is a 30-minute drive. It took us an hour and a half last night. When we finally got home, I was so cold and so stiff, all I could do was stand in front of the wood stove and fight back the tears of thankfulness.

You know, life is like that. Sometimes it seems so difficult just to get through. There are obstacles in the way, and often it's hard to even see where we're going. Many times, the trip is cold and frightening, and it seems that we'll never reach our destination.

That being said, can you imagine how great our homecoming will be? Can you imagine the joy and relief at finally reaching our destination? Can you imagine the peace of knowing that we'll never have to face life's situations again?

I'm ready for that day. Are you?