Robbie and I drove from Orem to Heber tonight and it was probably the worst blizzard I've driven in for more than 10 years. The snow was swirling, as if coming from every direction. We had to slow down to 10 mph and even then we could hardly see in front of us. Many times the only way I could tell where I was on the road was to look for a line, and in the cases where the line was covered, I had to look left or right for the metal sidebar and estimate how far away we were. My heart raced, adrenaline was flowing and we almost witnessed multiple head-on collisions.
Needless to say, we offered more than one prayer on that drive.
As I pondered what happened tonight, I realized that our lives are similar. A couple of parallels that I witnessed are:
1. Sometimes we can cruise through life, however, there are other times when it appears that we might be surrounded on all sides with no way out. We're not even sure which direction is which and we become temporarily disoriented. Sometimes, in the midst of a trial, the Lord will show us just enough (a glimpse of a line or metal rail) to help us continue to trek forward...even though it may be slowly. The key is to continue to look, seek, and ask for his help and counsel.
The story of Joseph suffering in Liberty Jail comes to mind. Joseph cried to the Lord in 121:1 - 2, "O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? How long shall thy hand be stayed?"
The Lord comforted Joseph and counseled him in Section 122:7 "If fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."
If we seek the Lord and follow his counsel, eventually the storm will pass, we will emerge from the blizzard, and we will go our way.
2. After returning home, I discovered that our daughter Clara was sick. She was laying at the foot of our bed moaning and had thrown up numerous times. As I quietly sat and rubbed her legs, I could hear the wind and storm howling outside in the blackness of the night. Yet, inside we were warm, protected, and sheltered from the fierce winds outside.
In life, if we follow the direction of the Spirit, we will be protected from the "shafts in the whirlwind" and the "fiery darts" of the adversary. The Savior said in D&C 84:88, "I will go before your face, I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hears, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."
There will be times when we go through the storm, but if we stay close to the Lord, there are many times when he will shield us and protect us from the assaulting storms of life.
This experience tonight was certainly spooky and it took more than an hour to flush the adrenaline from the system after pulling into our garage. On the other hand, I'm grateful for this lesson the Lord taught me this evening.
