The Drive Home

Sunday morning as I got ready to go to church at about 7:40 am, the snow was just starting to fall. I was heading out early because I was singing in choir. Normally, R.J. would have been going with me, but he was sick with a cold. So was my oldest son Joe, so it was just David and I on this particular Sunday. The snow had been predicted to start falling overnight, so I was pleased that we had just a light dusting as I began the drive. I thought about tossing my boots in the van, as we were under a winter storm warning – but I didn’t actually do it. I figured the snow was slow in coming and we would still be fine at noon, when David and I were ready to start for home again. Later, I would discover just how big a mistake leaving those boots at home was.

Choir was amazing. We had a devotional together, rehearsed, and then performed our songs for first service. As we exited the sanctuary, we passed the windows in the foyer and noticed that it was snowing pretty heavily. I went back into church to hear the sermon. Excellent choice! If you want to hear it, here’s a link: http://cccrochester.org/sermons/index.html (God’s Part - Inspiration). We had a brief break between services (noticing the snow falling very heavily as we passed the windows again) and then praised God all over again through those beautiful worship songs.  This time after the singing, I went back to hang out with my 2-year-old Sunday school buddies. (By the way, did I mention it was snowing?) My friend Eve had already done the actual teaching for the morning, but I was there in time to do snack with the kiddos. There were only seven of them. We normally have fifteen or more, but the weather kept many people at home on this day. After snack, Eve suggested that I go home. She said she and her husband could handle the seven kids; I should get started sooner rather than later getting through all that snow. I pulled David from his youth group and we made our way out the door.



David, enjoying a previous snow storm



By this time, it had snowed enough that we had a hard time finding the sidewalk. Normally, we would have been parked in the parking lot. But today was a choir day, and choir members are asked to park in the neighborhood across the street from the church to help alleviate overcrowding in the parking lot. As we trudged across the street, I was seriously wishing for my boots. I told David we had to just forget about our shoes. He said that was fine, as his shoes could use some washing. Uncovering the car was crazy. Both of us were working as hard as we could. There were four or five inches of snow to move, all over the van. By the time we would get one side of the car uncovered, the side we had worked on previously would be covered again. I didn’t have the length of reach or angle of approach that other, taller individuals might have had. Quite often, I was pulling snow off the van and on top of myself. I hadn’t thought to put my hood up, so my head was soaking wet, as were my pant legs and my shoes. Getting the car completely uncovered seemed a hopeless cause, so after 20 minutes we decided it was good enough and tried to get out of the parking spot. It took a couple of tries and some prayers, but we made it.

Little did I know that those 20 minutes we spent uncovering the car were the easy part of our journey home!  That five inches of snow we had just cleared off the car was making roads nearly impassable. Plows couldn’t keep up and hadn’t touched most of the roads I travelled.  I don’t usually drive on the really bad days; we either stay home or R.J. drives. I was not a happy camper as I realized how hazardous it really was out there, but we had to get home. And it was only 7 miles, so what’s the big deal, right? Hands clenched on the steering wheel, I questioned every route choice I made. It didn’t help that the snow which had accumulated on my hair was now dripping onto my glasses and into my eyes.  I complained loudly, just to relieve tension. Where is that Star Trek transporter technology when you need it? I just wanted to be home, or at the very least, to have someone else driving the car. Driving past a stand of pines, I had to interrupt my rant to notice the incredible beauty of the fresh snow. (Yep, I wished there were some way I could take a picture.) The snow falling from the sky let up a little as we neared home, but I dreaded the uphill entrance to our uphill driveway, knowing how many times I have not made it all the way into the garage on snowy days. I also knew that my sickies at home would not have been able to shovel the driveway.  I kept my speed up so as not to lose momentum and hoped for the best. I made it in the garage, shut off the car, peeled my fingers off the steering wheel, and breathed a sigh of relief. Home was definitely sweet today, and I intended to go NOWHERE else in a car for the remainder of the day.

One might ask how any of this is relevant to my Cambodia trip. Certainly (and thankfully), snow will not play a part in anything Cambodian. But some days, I view this journey to Cambodia like the morning I had. As I prepare to go, it’s like I’m in church with the choir. I’m praying and worshiping and thinking about the journey to come. I have been told that in Cambodia, “Plan A” is pie in the sky, and a good day is when “Plan C” works.  I think I went through most of the alphabet on Sunday morning, just hoping that one way or another, I might make it back home again.  Are you beginning to see the correlation? I love my creative God who helps me see that life continually presents me with opportunities to learn lessons, if my eyes are open to them.  ‎"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3





Laura and I, on a snowy adventure

 Plans for the Cambodian trip continue to develop. I turned in my application and deposit on Sunday. For quite some time now, my 19-year-old daughter Laura has been praying about whether to join the group going to Cambodia this summer. On Saturday evening, I received an email from her saying that she, “decided that Cambodia is where I need to be this summer.” I couldn’t be more pleased! She is a very mature young woman of faith who will add so much to our group. She is also one of my favorite people! Stay tuned to see what God has in store for the two of us this summer….