I'm home sick from Church this morning, so I thought I would post about an experience we had during the huge snow storm this week. I was going to share this in my talk today, which I didn't get to give. I was also sick two Sundays ago, so I'm sure the ward is wondering why I get sick everytime I have to speak or conduct Sacrament meeting.
On Wednesday evening, the snow storm hit and was so intense that we lost our power by 5 o'clock. The girls were really freaked out about this, and we didn't have an emergency heater, so we thought we should go to Candy and Tony's house (they still had power and an emergency heater in case they lost power too). Bethany thought we could walk, but I was nervous about trudging through that much snow with the girls on our shoulders, so we decided to try to drive. The snow was so bad we didn't even imagine that the car could make it, but we knew we could just shovel enough to push it to the side of the road when it got stuck and walk the rest of the way. We drove only on main roads, which were plowed, but even there the snow was so thick it was a very difficult drive. Our car got stuck once, and there was another turn at the top of a hill that the car almost lost all traction and slid out of control.
We made it alright all the way to the end of Edge Hill, so we came down a slight hill near Jenkintown road, before starting onto Candy's street. The light turned red and we stopped at the intersection. It looked like we were going to make it all the way, until I looked closely at the street we were about to drive on. It had not been plowed, so the snow was almost three feet thick and very slushy. We drive a Hyundai Accent, and I knew our little go-cart car was not going to be able to drive on a road like that. It is a narrow street, too, with lots of cars parked on both sides of the street, so there was also the danger of hitting another car if we slid even a little bit. While we sat at the stop light and I looked at that road, my stomach started to sink, thinking about carrying Angelique and Madeline out in the cold, when we had made it so far, and only had this last stretch of road that turned out to be the most difficult. Just then, my cell phone rang. It was my dad.
I told him how inspired he was to call us right then. He said that Mom had told him to call and ask how we were doing. I explained the situation and asked if he and Mom could stop whatever they were doing and pray for us. He said they would, and I promised we would call as soon as we were safely there. We got off the phone, the light turned green, and we went for it. Our weak, light car should not have been able to do it. But I was able to drive forward with faith, knowing that my mom and dad were praying for us right then. And we made it! When we were finally in front of Candy and Tony's house, I made the slightest turn to go into their driveway and the car got stuck immediately. I couldn't go forward or backward an inch. But it didn't matter! Bethany carried the girls up to the house, while Tony came out and we were able to shovel enough to get the car out of the street.
It is always amazing to see how easily the Lord is able to work miracles through such small things. That phone call from my dad was exactly what I needed in that moment. We were able to drive just far enough to make it. And I think all of this was a tender mercy for Angelique and Madeline. If it had just been Bethany and me, we would have put on some warm clothes and blankets and been fine that night. But Angelique was really afraid because the light switches didn't work. Madeline got scared if we put her down for even one minute. But because we were able to make it in our car, they did not have to face the cold at all and were able to feel comfortable at Candy and Tony's, where they've spent the night several times. So I am even more amazed at how much Heavenly Father is willing to do to comfort two scared little children that He loves very much.
