March 1st

To say that March roared in like a lion could almost be an understatement this time. March 1st will be a day I will not quickly forget. To begin that day I knew there was some devastating news coming our way and while I cannot divulge the details of the situation, I can honestly say my heart is broken. I have claimed a verse from Psalms for my friends, my church family and myself. Psalms 34:18 says "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit". As the pastor was praying a closing prayer on Sunday you could hear the sleet hitting the windows. As we walked out of the building the most beautiful, pristine white snowflakes greeted us. It was as if the Lord had sent a reminder to our church that forgiveness through him can purify our hearts and make us white as snow. There is redemption and forgiveness in Him alone. I was so grateful for the newness and freshness of the snow because I believe it came at a time when the Lord wanted us to see that life does go on and we are to live it fully for him!

My mom had taken the kids home earlier that morning and when I drove up they were squealing and running around playing in what had already fallen and stuck to the ground. You see they have been praying for snow for a long time and they were just beside themselves that the Lord answered their prayers. It wasn't long before the snow was too much for the pine tree branches to support and limbs began cracking and falling all around our house. They all missed our house by inches, one even broke a railing on our deck. Now hear me on this - the large limbs missed our house by inches...it took me a while to see the Lord's protective hand over us. Instead I was too caught up in the overwhelming emotions of the day and I quickly panicked and wanted nothing more than to get my family away from our home. The power had gone out, the snow was not letting up and some friends had invited us over for the night. So I called my mom, packed some bags and loaded hers and ours in the van while Jeremiah dug the van out of the snow. It was 6:30 pm before we could leave our house and by then the roads were not looking so good. We managed to make it about 4 miles in 30 minutes only to discover a downed tree blocked the road and our only way to our friends home. We turned the vehicles around, started back up the hill and had to venture out on part of the road that had not been driven on to avoid oncoming traffic. It was at this point we got stuck. To keep this short I will summarize by saying I was not resting in the Lord, rather I was panic stricken. I called 911 when there became about 10 other cars stuck as well and people were sliding in to ditches and I became truly fearful that another car would slide into us and we would slide into the deep ditch. A box of Lucky Charms and some Ritz Crackers and Kit Kittridge DVD kept the kids from really knowing the desperate situation we really were in. Many thanks to the Oconee County Sheriffs Department for their help in getting us (and the 10 other vehicles) out of the snow and cold.

Once we arrived back home I asked the Lord for forgiveness and we all prayed that he would protect us and our home from the falling branches. I told the girls to pretend they were Mary and Laura from Little House on the Prairie and we lit lots of candles and all five of us slept in the living room under several layers of quilts. I wish I could say I slept peacefully but with three kids laying all around me, sleep was difficult to obtain. However I was at peace, that we would not be cold, that us and our home would be protected and that I should have had that peace in the very beginning. Power was restored in the middle of the night and we all enjoyed the snow the following morning as it should be.

I look forward to seeing more of the Lamb this month - the Lamb of God who was slain for my sins but is alive and in the business of making miracles happen, even now!