White Out Covers Colorado Plains

My husband and I travel often.  Unfortunately, the many times that we make road trips, we encounter various obstacles along the way.

The first major road trip we took was moving from Tennessee to Colorado.  After battling the flu and being snowbound in Gatlinburg, we finally managed to leave town on a December afternoon.  We made it as far as Memphis until we were rear-ended and pushed into the car in front of us.  Sandwiched!  Our car was totaled.

After moving to Denver, we began taking road trips up North to visit Nathan’s family.  It is only supposed to be an hour-and-a-half trip, so sometimes we visit on the weekends.  However, on one of these occasions, we got stuck in Friday-night traffic, and the trip took 3 hours.

Last October we volunteered for a campaign in Oklahoma.  (The campaign was excellent!)  We also had volunteered to drive; about 60 miles outside of Denver on the return home, the semi in front of us decided to blow a tire.  We ran over it. Fortunately, we were able to drive the van back home, but we drove less than 40mph and repaired a tire and a gasket that week.

This past December, we decided to head up North, again, for Christmas.  This time, we left on a Wednesday.  (“Yay! No traffic,” we thought.)  It was snowing a bit when we left, but as we drove on, we headed into a blizzard.  That same blizzard dropped a foot of snow on Denver that night.  We didn’t even know if we were on the road at some points. It took more than 3 hours, in the dark, in the blizzard. 

Just yesterday, we took a trip to Burlington.  They had offered Nathan an opportunity to teach class and preach. (THANK YOU for this wonderful opportunity!)  Burlington is about a 2 to 3 hour drive east of Denver, almost to the Kansas border.  So at 6:00am we were on the road again. My husband was gracious enough to drive, seeing as though I am not a morning person, and I happily dozed off in the passenger seat.  About an hour-and-a-half into the trip, I awoke with a startle.  Everything out the window was white.  The sky was white, the ground was white, and the car we should have seen in front of us was white.  It was NOT snowing, but it had snowed the previous week.  But with the overcast skies and the wind harshly throwing the snow in the air, we were surrounded by a white bubble.  It was like a thick whirlwind of fog encapsulating us.  Amazing!  We couldn’t see past a hundred yards; yet going 50mph on the interstate, it seemed like only 10 feet.  It was terrifying. 

I couldn’t think of anything else but to spout out “When the skies above you are gray, you are feeling so blue!” And then, for my husband’s sake, I silently sang to myself the rest of the song...

“When you’re cares and burdens seem great all the whole day through,

There’s a silver lining that shine, in the heavenly land;

Look by faith and see it my friend, trust in His promises grand.”

At the end of my silent song, we pulled off at a rest stop.  We bundled up tightly and faced the windstorm to take a break that was much needed.  Five minutes later, we bundled up again to head out on the road again.  But as soon as we got on the interstate, we noticed a difference like night to day.  The winds had died down, the grass was poking through the snow, and the sun was peaking out through the clouds to form that blessed silver lining.

Thank you, God, for the safety you have provided.  May we trust You, not only during our physical obstacles but, more importantly, during our spiritual struggles.