Thankful

I'm feeling very thankful today. Not that I don't have reason on a daily basis to be thankful, but today I'm feeling particularly thankful.

It snowed here in the mountains yesterday.....across the southeast actually. Snow in the mountains is not all that unusual in the winter, but perhaps a little more so in March. It was not snowing when we left to go to church. It was snowing some by the time we left church around noon. We stopped for gas and also at a favorite local restaurant for a bite to eat. I noticed as we were eating that the snow was coming down more heavily, in large, puffy, wet flakes.

After lunch we began the drive home, about 10 miles up and down hills and around curves. It was a slow trip......lots of people on the road trying to get back home. We turned off the main highway and began the journey (several miles) along the winding mountain road to return home. After we turned off the state-maintained road and started up our road (a privately maintained road), things got more "interesting"! Part of this road is paved and was quite slippery in spots. We managed to make it up past the pond and made it around two sharp turns (we call them switch-backs here in the mountains) and started up the last stretch of asphalt before the road becomes gravel. We didn't make it. We ended up off the road, although not into the ditch thankfully......on the right side of the road, fortunately. The left side is the "fall off the side" side! Al tried to call for help, although he couldn't get anybody on the phone, and I began to pray. Actually, I had been praying for a while (being on the road in this kind of weather always tends to make me nervous), so I guess you could say I began to pray more fervently!

We sat on the side of the road for a while when Al decided he might be able to back down to the switchback, get us turned around, and make it to his parent's vacation house......which we could see from where we were but which was still quite a distance away. The problem with that scenario was that the rear end of the car was pointed in the "fall off the side" direction and we weren't sure if he would be able to control our direction since the road was so slippery and brakes were virtually useless at this point. Meanwhile, I'm still praying!!

Since I am sharing this adventure, you may safely conclude that we did not slide off the side, but were able to back down to the switchback, get pointed in the right direction and make it to Granny and Papa's house! Once we arrived there, Al got back on the phone and finally connected with John (who is responsible to maintain the road). The road was scraped and salted and we resumed our journey up the side of the mountain. Never has half a mile seemed such an impossible journey!! With thanks for the salt, a dependable all-wheel drive Subaru and an experienced driver, we arrived home in one piece!! It's days like this that make me wonder why I thought living on the side of a mountain (literally!!) was a good idea!!! I'm not planning to venture out again until this stuff melts!

Above all through this "adventure", I'm thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows my fears and gives me His peace through it all. I'm thankful that He hears and answers prayers. I am thankful that He is my Protector! And I'm thankful that He has blessed me with such a wonderful husband, who also happens to be such a good driver :)