Off-road Adventures

When God's Got the Wheel But You Don't Know Where He's Taking You

Notes and meditation for anyone who labors under the misconception that all the trouble and worry of parenting ends when the children move out of the house.

I conducted an informal poll the other day on our Family-app. The question to our seven driving children: How many times have you slid off the road in a snowstorm?

You'll note this is a fairly specific question; the incident number would undoubtedly be greater if  I'd asked about accidents, in general, but, since we've had major snowstorms two weekends in a row here in Iowa, it was pertinent, and I wondered if my aging-and-always-questionable Momma-memory had exaggerated the phone calls home to be rescued. Turns out that if my memory was faulty, it had blocked some incidents, and we got a pretty thorough retelling of snow and non-snow fender-benders that everyone lived to tell about -- and laugh over.

Here's a log of the responses, for the sake of posterity:

Shelly: I've slid off the road like 6 times I think.. (We're not including driveways, right?)

This assertion followed later by:

I had my brakes go totally out at a stoplight...thankfully, it was green and then I careened into a parking lot until I coasted to a stop... 

&

Ran into a guard rail after I fell asleep (on my birthday at 3 am) Ruined the rim and tire and alignment...had to sleep in a parking lot...Haha

Paul: I've had a number -- I'd guess 4 in the snow. 1 was with Kevin in the Cheyenne, 1 was with Uncle Dave going to Aspen, 1 was with Luke and Louis going to Copper Mountain, and I'm sure there was at least one other one. And 2-3 non snow-related.

Kevvy: Paul, what about going over Monarch in your truck and you stopped to help the Germans?

I was with you with Louis, too! Ha! Driveways don't count... not Davis driveways, at least. Now, almost running over two siblings...

Cathy: I've gone off the road twice this winter! Both times in the Durango! Haha! But, yeah, Kevin's got us all beat!
(This was before the weekend blizzard, when Dan's car stuck in a drift.)

Kevvy: Crashed my car on my birthday, too. Had one catch fire on Thanksgiving. A car I was borrowing while I lent mine to Father and engine overheated and needed over 1k in repairs. Haha! But I guess that's not all relevant...

Shelly: Slid off the road three times driving from Olathe to Denver in a snow storm. Had to be towed twice, then ended up staying at a hotel.. I think Kevin still has me beat, for sure.. Hahaha!

Kevvy: Haha! I think it's neck and neck, Chicky! (a.k.a. Shelly; a.k.a. Michelle)

Fr. P. Never gone off the road. Dominic has had the most adventures in the Rav4, right?

Monica (Dominic's wife): I bet. He almost slipped into an icy intersection wit me before we were dating... I'm SURE there were other occasions.

You give it to God, and He gives you back gray hair; i.e., wisdom.

We're still waiting to hear back from Dominic with facts and figures, but there's fairly unanimous speculation that his snow-slide list is pretty long. He had a Christmas tradition of sliding off the road in the little Rav4 for a few years there. Never any injuries, never any significant damage to the car, just a phone call to come get him out of the ditch. Christmas Adventures. (I kinda missed that this year!)

But we never lack for snow adventure (or adventure of any kind, actually), even when Dominic isn't around. We had two cars stranded in the blizzard this past weekend, but two "saves" (at least) due to the kindness of others. 



So. All's well. Always was. Even when I was sitting in the snowy window during Saturday's Blizzard, looking out and worrying. (Hail Mary/worry; Holy Mary/worry some more)

Why do we do that to ourselves?  After so many years of parenting, I do know better. If we're considering rightly, all the daily peccadillos -- those things over which we have very little control --  from broken arms to  cars in ditches to midwest tormadoes --  can be traction on the way up  (you know, that steep slope you hear tell about). Or they can trip us. 

I'm human, so I do faceplant fairly often still. But I'm learning. I'm going gray (need to see my hairdresser about that!), but I do know, in hindsight, if nothing else, that if I stand back and really look at the big picture, I can't help but see God in it. There He is. As our teenage daughter plows into a snowdrift -- and He directs someone over almost immediately to help.  As a neighbor picks up the girls from the other stranded car, saving them a mile-long walk home in the storm. As our friend, Dan H, exercises such charity in clearing our driveway for us. As my Dan works from home today to take from my shoulders the burden of finding and retrieving the stranded-then-impounded car. As all the children come together to laugh and joke about all the close-calls and life-affirming saves, still so close to one another though so many miles apart. 

I think God may be easiest to see in a snowstorm.