December 11, 2014
Yesterday afternoon, Linda and I set out for Bath, NY, for Family Life Network's Christmas musical, my Christmas gift from Nate and Deb. I especially appreciate gifts like this; Linda and I are at the point in our lives that there is precious little we need, and we're running out of room for more stuff. The original plan was for Nate and Deb to go with us, but after making all the arrangements, they discovered the play was in conflict with their girls' school Christmas concert. Alex and Abi tried to convince them to go to the play, but they rightly declined. They wanted us to go anyway, so we did. Or almost did.
The weather report called for a storm to blow in from the east and to be largely over by late afternoon, which should have meant that the roads would be getting better the further east we drove. I called a friend in Hornell to get a live on-site report. "Snow's spitting in the air, but the roads are clear," he intoned. So it was a go, after all.
Late morning, I visited my friend to talk with him about Jesus. We had a good conversation, I opened my heart to him, and his eyes filled with tears as he spoke of the guilt he feels for things he'd done. I was able to tell him of God's method of dealing with guilt in Jesus' atonement, of the difference between guilt and conviction, and when it came time to leave, I prayed for him, and he prayed for me. I'm still praying for him, that he'll come to know God's love and forgiveness as a living experiential reality.
When I got home, we ate a quick meal and headed for Bath. The roads were bad, but I've driven on worse, so we pushed on, figuring things would clear up as we kept going. They didn't. It took us an hour and a half to get to Salamanca, normally about a forty minute drive. We stopped for gas, checked the map, and realized that at the pace we were able to go, our destination was probably about three hours away, meaning we wouldn't get there before the show began. Reluctantly, we turned around, literally "all dressed up, and nowhere to go." We arrived home about the time the show was scheduled to start, watched a movie on my iPad, and went to bed.
As we drove, we talked about times in our youth when we drove through similar storms like a couple maniacs. God cares for children and fools; no one back then had front wheel drive cars except Saab owners. That we weren't killed in our recklessness is a miracle for which we are deeply grateful. We talked about how in our youthful stupidity we would not only have pushed on; we would have done so at breakneck and life-threatening speed. Had we not been able to make the performance, our disappointment would have turned to either anger or morbidity; last night, we simply accepted it and made the best of it. Growing older and wiser has its benefits, for which we are grateful.
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