Driving in a White Out


ImageAbout 4 years ago, my family was driving back from Arizona to Kansas – on leg 2 of the journey home, with kids 2 and 4 happily watching movies in the back, we found ourselves in a pickle.

The weather just outside of Albequerque was rainy and we knew there was snow to the north of us, but we were only 11 miles from our hotel and content to keep moving forward. It was March and in Kansas we have no fear of snow or blizzards in March. We soon learned that in New Mexico, in the mountains, you should be more cautious. Within minutes and a mile, we were in white out conditions at a crawl. Semitrucks jack knifing and pulled over on the side – it was treacherous fast.

There was no exit in site and a divided highway that didn’t allow us to turn around. We were stuck trudging forward. Soon I literally couldn’t see past the hood of the car. I put my head down while my husband drove and began to pray. I mean pray and pray every scripture I could think of.

We only had 8 miles to go, but it had taken us 40 minutes to get the last mile or two. How would we ever get there before we were snowed in and stuck? It was a terrifying experience, especially with the kids in the car.

Just as I thought we were doomed, an exit came into view – well it wasn’t really in view, but the edge of the green arrow and 2 feet of the fork of the road. We exited and found the covering of a gas station we could park under. We took the last slot by a pump in the shelter with fellow travelers holed up for the night.

It was a cold night, one without a bathroom or a warm place to stay. But with the constant supply of fuel, we could run the heater in the car.

Surviving Lyme without God as a support system is like driving in that white out down the highway. There is no shelter, no help, no way to get through it. But with God – it is like being parked under that gas station shelter. We were still in the storm, but had the support of other around us, we were not alone, and we had a constant supply of fuel to sustain us.

This road is not easy and the journey doesn’t shorten just because you lean on Christ – but he promises to be a shelter in the storms of life.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2)