New snow had begun falling an hour or two before he left. It was very fine, wet snow -- the kind that drops in a steady mist, rapidly coating roads and windshields. By this time it was about two centimeters deep; but this was a miracle. The original forecast had been for afternoon snowsqualls to bring 5-1o centimeters of snow, followed by more snow in the night. When my son confirmed his intent to continue with his original plan despite the forecast, I bit my tongue hard and prayed. I asked others to pray as well.
The Lord soon filled me with a deep peace, which carried me through the day.
I thought the snowsqualls would arrive by early evening at the latest. As the day wore on, my peace grew deeper. We had a very nice dinner together, with beautiful Christmas music playing in the background. By the time we shut things down for the night, early, the snowsqualls still hadn't made an appearance.
At about 4:15 a.m., after we had both gotten up and looked out the window, I said to him, "The snowsquall never came." He had no idea this wasn't just the result of a natural shifting of the winds. But clearly, he was calmed and greatly relieved.
He reached his destination ahead of time, despite the fact that for the first hour or so of his trip, he was driving virtually blind because of the snow.
He doesn't know this (he'd think I'd totally lost the plot), but before he got in the car, I'd asked Jesus to go with him.
For a while the previous day, I had pictured the entire worst-case scenario. I had already planned who I would call and what I would do when I heard the news. I'd gone up to my bed briefly, growing cold with fear. Why did God have to allow that car to have bad tires? Why couldn't the snow have held off one more day? I lay there, on the verge of sliding into numbness. Then something bigger than me kicked in. I got up and e-mailed some friends from church. While I was writing the e-mail, the Lord put this thought in my mind, which I included in the e-mail:
But He is the Lord. This is His, from top to bottom. Perhaps this is just another moment where He wants me to watch how well He walks on water (or drives on snow), eh?
This turned my focus around. Whatever happened, God would take care of me. But more likely than the worst-case scenario was the scenario where I would get to see Jesus amaze me again. Oh, and He did.
A song came to mind as I was writing my "here's how it all came out" e-mail to the friends who had prayed with me. I didn't include it (already enough overload), but it was this:
Be Still, My Soul *
...Especially this line, which seems to explain what happened to the snowsquall:
Be still my soul, the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
No kidding, they do.
Thank You again, precious One.
* YouTube video (There may be a short ad before the video -- sorry.)
Words by Katharine von Schlegel (1697-c.1768)
Music ("Finlandia") by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Performed here by the wonderful UK boys' choir Libera
Story behind the hymn here