This too shall pass...

We had the snowstorm of the century last night. It was a mess! The wind was blowing snow everywhere. There was zero visibility and giant snow drifts all over. Rob was supposed to go to work and was trying to wait it out. Finally an hour after he was supposed to leave he decided to brave it and he headed out. This is what it might have been like for him as he made his way to the freeway.



As you can see in this picture the giant drifts that were created in a short amount of time. They were everywhere. There were cars that were caught in these drifts and hundreds of rescue efforts trying to get to people stuck in the snow.

As Rob was driving 25 miles an hour he was listening to reports of the chaos everywhere. They were pleading with people to stay home unless there was an emergency. They couldn't take anymore messes. Rob was trying to see the road and was spinning the front tires of the van just to get it up the hill. He called to tell me he was going to turn around at the next opportunity. That opportunity came and left as it was blocked by a snow drift. It was terrifying for him and myself as I talked to him. He finally came upon the next available exit and had to gun it through the snowdrift blocking it. As he tried to get back on the freeway heading home he saw that it was blocked also. There was a semi stuck in the snowdrift that was blocking it. He pulled into the nearest gas station to assess the situation and try to figure out how he was going to get home. He was among the thousands of stranded motorists who were not going ANYWHERE. He was gearing up to spend the night in the van at the gas station. He was only 10 treacherous miles from home but he couldn't get there. Thirty minutes later he notice a snowplow coming. He gave a sigh of relief as he realized that the snowplow was going his way. He got behind him and followed him all the way to the home exit.

As I placed myself in his shoes I thought of the agony of getting back onto that road and making that terrifying journey home. I don't know that I could have. The roads were so dark, uncertain and dangerous. But yet if Rob wouldn't have he would never have gotten back home. It was a cold and despairing thought.

There are often dark moments in life and as we face them we have to realize that we need to move forward. We may not be able to do it alone and we may need a snowplow to show the way when there is zero visibility, but if we don't take those opportunities when they come then we may become entrapped as the motorists below.

Rob and I realize that we have had many snowplows show us the way. We are grateful to each and everyone of them. We hope you know who you are.