Winter Arrives

My pick up truck couldn’t get any traction. The cars, semis, buses, delivery trucks, and vans around me were sliding sideways, sliding in circles, sliding into ditches, and coming frighteningly close to me as I was also sliding toward the shoulder of the freeway. It was very dark out and the sleet, according to the radio, was not going to come to an end any time soon.

There were also people out on the road. They were trying to push cars out of ditches or to the side of the road. It was disconcerting to watch three or four people trying to push a car while their feet slid out from under them on the icy road. Not having complete control of my truck, I was afraid I would end up hitting one of them. My fear was becoming a hindrance to rational thinking.

Black ice or white ice or something in between. It’s all slippery. It was keeping me from getting home, normally just over an hour away. It was taking all of my attention, but I only traveled one mile between exits. It took forty-five minutes to do it. I didn’t know what to do.

Fortunately, it is the age of the cell phone, a link to the real world beyond this traffic-accident waiting to happen. The voice on the other side was comforting and helpful. It told me to get off at the next exit by driving with a couple of tires on the shoulder where the gravel poked through some of the ice. The much-more-rational-than-me-voice said to get a room at the Red Roof Inn, and walk to the Big Boy for a snack. The snack was necessary because I was unprepared for the possibility of a low blood sugar; I learned my lesson and keep emergency food with me at all times.

Winter in Michigan brings with it ice, snow, sleet, cold, and darkness. I’ve lived here all my life and I know to be prepared for whatever the weather might be. I grew up driving pick up trucks and learned to put extra weight in the truck bed to help with traction. But, I wasn’t prepared this time.

It was only November 1^st.

Yesterday we had the first accumulating snow of this winter. With today being December 1^st, it is exactly at the right time. Snow adds to my Christmas spirit. I will put the evergreen wreath on the door. I will prepare the living room for the Christmas tree. I will light cinnamon and mint candles. And tonight I will plug in the Christmas lights, which we put out Thanksgiving week, for the first time this season.

And most days until Christmas, I will sit quietly with my Bible in my hands reading the story, meditating on the miracles and prophecies fulfilled, and be in awe of a God who loves us so much that He came to earth as a small, unremarkable baby, just so we could know He is God.