Lost in the storm

It’s raining today.  As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers.  What do May flowers bring?”  Pollen.  At least in Minnesota.  Excuse me while I sneeze…

Actually, April in Minnesota may bring snow showers!  Or just flat-out snowstorms.  A few years ago, we had registered to go bowling for an Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota event 20 miles away…on April 14th…and drove in almost white out conditions.  We wanted to support them because they had been such a great support for us so we decided to brave it. 

But once we returned to our car after the event and saw it had continued snowing the whole time, we realized it maybe hadn’t been the best idea.  The 38 cars in the ditch in a 15 mile stretch confirmed that.  Thankfully we made it home, albeit slowly and having to stop several times to scrape the icy mix off the windshield.

It reminded me of another snowstorm I had driven in a few years earlier.  It wasn’t as severe but intensified rather quickly while I was running errands and inside one of the stores.  I came out of the store to a lot of icy snow; I tried driving home but had to pull over right before getting on the highway to scrape the ice off the windshield. 

As I merged onto the highway, the radio was playing “Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns…while I was driving in a storm!  I was also thinking about being in the middle of the epilepsy storm and a work storm with my husband’s job that had him working six and seven days a week.

And while this song was playing, I came across an accident that had happened maybe one minute ahead of me, with cars in the ditch, drivers still in the cars, and no emergency vehicles onsite yet. 

Would I have been in that accident if I hadn’t stopped to clean my windshield?

About a mile further, I exited the highway and the radio began to play, “We Won’t Be Shaken” by Building 429.

I know You go before me and I am not alone
This mountain rises higher
The way seems so unclear
But I know that You go with me so I will never fear
I will trust in You

Whatever will come our way
Through fire or pouring rain
We won’t be shaken

Building 429, “We Won’t Be Shaken”

“I know You go before me?”  When right before me was a car accident?  Maybe God actually was going before me, maybe it was just a coincidence.  But I also believed that was a promise for the other storms.  He’s going before us in the storm, through fire and pouring rain.  I actually chuckled a little as I changed the lyrics to “pouring snow.”  No, not even that can shake me, no matter how unclear the way may seem.

There are storms that are still blinding me, trying to knock me off my feet, and sucking the oxygen right out of my lungs.  I have felt lost in a storm so many times.  Honestly, I have felt shaken since that day, so lyrics like that become more of an anthem I try to hold on to rather than the truth of how I am feeling.

I’ve wondered now for a few days what the conclusion of this post should be.  But I still don’t have an ending.  I don’t have a neat, tidy ending to this post because I don’t have an ending to my storms.

So today, I finish typing.

And it’s still raining.

I was sure by now
God, You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again
I’ll say amen and it’s still raining

Casting Crowns, “Praise You in This Storm”