Last winter was a difficult time here in Iowa. December brought snow and blowing cancelled church services and times when people were unable to reach their destinations. Schools were closed and most districts had to make up time before the end of the school year. The winter started with snow, but January brought even more trouble including an arctic blast that set records for low temperatures for the day in Waterloo as a -34 degree day occurred. It was a nasty disagreeable winter.
One weather event stands out particularly in my memory. It was a whole weekend of freezing rain which cancelled almost all the activities for several days. At least it did not cause power outages for our area but it did bring about a lot of trouble including the icy streets of January, 2009. We didn’t leave the house until Sunday afternoon when I thought that maybe I could make it to the Bait Shop (local convenience store) where they might have a copy of the Waterloo Sunday paper. I didn’t think it would be safe to walk, but confidently I thought that perhaps I could drive the four blocks to my destination. I then proceeded to back the car very carefully out of the garage onto the street, turned to attempt to start up the road, and quickly realized that I couldn’t get any traction at all. I tried some very limited maneuvering, but I couldn’t get any momentum in any meaningful direction, so I gave up on my little trip. However, a big hurdle still remained. Could I get the car back up the little rise and into the garage? It turned out that I wasn’t able to make that happen, either. Was I doomed to sit on the street until the spring thaw came? I finally was able to get a little momentum, gunned the engine, and just crawled into the driveway, but that was it. Becky came out of the house, and had a suggestion. “Maybe you could throw something under the tires for traction.” We tried salt, which worked a little, but the best idea came when Becky said that maybe some blankets would work. We threw them under the front tires, which slipped a bit, but then caught enough to get the car over the ridge and into the garage again. I had left the house, spent an hour trying first to leave, and then to return, and was glad simply to have the car safely inside the garage again. The streets of Frederika were so slippery that on Monday a school bus got stuck on the corner by the church; it took a wrecker, a tractor, and a load of lime spread on the street to get the bus moving again. The ice was unrelenting and fully capable of making vehicles absolutely helpless.
The ice of 2009 reminds us that there are times in life that we are unable to get traction. It may be that we are brought low by events around us. Our health may falter and we may feel as if we are unable to find our way out of the difficulties we face as we navigate from day to day. It may also be that age is a great hindrance. We may feel too young. “Mom and Dad won’t let me do anything I want to do,” may be our complaint. We want to be on our way to race through life to grow up and embark on great adventures, but yet we realize that our footing is still tentative and uncertain. Or we may feel that we are too old, that life has passed us by. We feel that every time we try to take a step forward our footing slips out from under us and we are right back where we started.
But perhaps the biggest hindrance we face is fear, such as fear that we won’t be successful or have others admire and respect us, or even find love. We may discover that fear leads us to fall into the sins of price, envy, lust or other sins that take hold. We may not find out that we are not able to find our way again. For we have fallen under the temptations to lead our life apart from God.
We need someone to help us. We need the Lord and Savior to be with us to pick us up and lead us “in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” We turn to God for good footing in our travels through life, for God will guide us today and beyond to the wonderful new world to come.
So I will remember for a long time the ice that came our way in 2009, and my laughable efforts to drive on the streets covered with glare ice. But I will also remember the God who picks me up when the road grows slick and dangerous; the God who brings me new life in Jesus Christ. He is the one who will be my guide until that day comes when ice and snow are no more, for the Lord will be all in all and death will be swallowed up in victory. There we will see the wonder of God and will worship Him day and night. What a day that will be! What wonders will we see!
