Recently Kansas City has been hit by some serious snow. Having lived in the southeast eight years of my life or so, I was familiar with snow...but I'll admit I wasn't fully prepared for just how much snow would hit Kansas City. Things like black ice, sludgy mush and other fun bits of nature proved to be a renewing headache as well.
The worst aspect is that...well...my car isn't exactly designed for weather. I drive a 2010 Kia Rio5, a little car that, despite being manufactured by a company whose parent country is often filled with snow, doesn't seem apt to handle winter weather very well. As such, my trip home found my car literally sliding downhill on the neighborhood road and into a ditch. My housemate was kind enough to come out and try to help me move it, but ultimately decided to leave it overnight. This was decided based on the fact that the house was just down the street and housemate's brother-in-law was coming the next day with truck and chains.
There were a lot of other things going on in my life at the time - on top of the fact that I had had no meal that day due to being called in to work early (and forgetting my wallet at home...) - so overall...it was very stressful. To the point where I just wanted to lay in bed and pretend nothing was wrong. I prayed to God that everything would work out, that things wouldn't be as bad. I started to worry too much, find things to worry about.
In the end, housemate's brother-in-law came with his truck and we managed to get it out of the ditch and into the road. The battery had died overnight, but with a little juice from the jumpers the Rio5 was up and running again, and I managed to get it up the hill and back home. I was more worried about getting home tonight after work, with the roads icing (temperature at 2:00 AM is expected to get to below zero), but I again managed to get home on time and safe and sound.
I recognize to many (especially those who got a car totaled in a blizzard) this entire post may seem like making a lot out of a little. I'm sure ten years down the road something worse will happen or I'll simply look back and realized there was nothing to really worry about. However, I think all things have a purpose, good and bad. Times like this remind us that, contrary to our minds, we are not in charge. We do not control the weather, we do not control all the incidents that happen in our life, and we are most certainly not the sole masters of our destiny. All things happen by the sovereign hand of God and, as Charles Spurgeon once said, every dust particle is moved by God's hand. Yet just as much as we treasure the good that comes our way, we must be ready to embrace the trials and tribulations we face as well. We must be reminded that God is still sovereign in all things, and ultimately we need to trust in Him for all things.
Soli Deo Gloria!
