I want to tell you all a story.
As some of you already know, I had quite the mishap on Monday while driving back from Texas after visiting some of my family for a couple days. My plan was to leave early in the afternoon so I could get back before dark to avoid hitting any unseen slick spots farther north. Well, what originally would have been a 5 ½ hour drive home eventually turned into an 8 hour ‘adventure’…
About an hour and a half after I left I was reaching the Oklahoma state line, and if anyone has driven up Hwy 75 through TX/OK you know there’s a really cool bridge that crosses the river. I’ve driven past this bridge several times going to/from Texas, and I’ve always wanted to stop and take pictures (I can never resist a good bridge photo-op)…so, after initially driving right past it, this time I made the decision to turn around and go take some pictures (assuming I would regret not doing it later).
As soon as I pulled up to the bridge (there was even a little gravel parking area, so naturally I thought it was meant to be) a state patrol car pulled up to make sure I was alright. I explained that I was simply going to stop for a couple minutes, snap some photos, and be on my way (which he ok’d, as long as I didn’t actually step on the tracks).
…Let me back up for a second… the previous Monday I had taken photos of my baby nephew (he’s a MONTH old already…ahh!) and had taken my memory card out of my camera so that I could edit a few photos…
Now back to the bridge.
I get out of my car (being extra mindful to put my keys and phone in my pockets), grab my hat, sling my camera over around my neck, and start shooting away. After about 7-8 frames, I stop to see how they were coming out…to discover my memory card missing (now you see why my nephew side story was relevant). Frustrated, I walk back to my car, find a spare memory card in my bag (luckily I always have a few on hand), and go back to snapping photos. After getting a few distant shots of the bridge I wanted to get closer, so I looked back and was relieved to see the patrol car driving away. I got some closer shots, then feeling a little cold decided I had enough photos and wanted to get back on the road (I had already lost about 20-30 minutes of driving time by then).
As I got closer to my car though I started to panic a little…I didn’t feel my car keys in my pocket. Then I saw them, sitting right beside my camera bag in the back seat of my car, mocking me. So, naturally my first reaction was to start hitting my windows and yelling “NO NO NO NO NO!”
“Of course this would happen to me” was the thought that ran through my head about 157 times during the next 2 hours…yes, TWO HOURS. (I was also missing that patrol car something fierce.)
Once I calmed down and stopped yelling at myself for being so forgetful, I had the thought to call my State Farm roadside assistance…30 minutes and an angry tweet later, I had still failed to reach someone. So I called my local agent who was gracious and kind enough to stay on the phone with me while she and another agent tracked my location and found a local locksmith to come help…then even offered to reimburse me for the cost once I got home! By then I was feeling a little more relieved, but not any less cold. Next I called the locksmith, was given a time frame of about 20 minutes, then called my parents to let them know what had happened, all the while thinking of ways to stay warm (hiding behind my car, jumping jacks, pacing back and forth, etc…).
That was hour number ONE.
While waiting for the locksmith to show up, I tried to look on the bright side of things, and at that same moment, a train started coming across the bridge (perfect timing!). So I grabbed my camera and went off to take pictures again until my fingers were frozen.
After I got back to my car, I crouched behind it to stay out of the wind…and a minute later a truck pulls up. A woman and her daughter get out, take a look at the crazy girl sitting outside of her car on the side of the road, and proceed up to the bridge to take some touristy photos of each other. My initial feeling was that of anger…that they didn’t even care to stop and ask if I was okay or needed help! I watched as they took their photos, got back into their toasty truck, and drove off down the highway.
((I promise I’m going somewhere with this story…stay with me…))
After they drove off, I checked the time…it had been 30 minutes since I talked to the locksmith! By then I was slightly more than irritated. A lot of bad words came to mind, and I may or may not have yelled out loud a time or two out of frustration.
The next thing that happened was almost so comical to me I couldn’t believe it…a SECOND train came by. Only this time I wasn’t so happy to see it. I glared as each train car chugged on by…all the way up to the caboose, which had a nice little sign on the back that said “It’s a great day!” It was all I could do not to laugh out loud.
Fifteen minutes later the locksmith and his wife finally show up, and 5 minutes after that I was back inside my car, heat cranked to high. Then I sat there for a few more minutes so I could un-thaw before hitting the road again.
That was the end of hour number TWO, and here’s where the purpose of this story comes in (besides to amuse you with my unfortunate tale).
As I sat in my car warming up, I stared at the bridge that I just had to have photos of, and thought of all the trouble that followed it (I was actually starting to really hate that bridge). But then I noticed that the sun was starting to set, and the scene of the sun’s reflection off the river and the way it hit the bridge was just too beautiful to stay mad at.
Here I was, angry and bitter(ly cold) about what had happened in the last two hours that I had completely failed to even see the beauty that I had originally set out to capture. Sure I tried to look on the positive side of things a few times, but the negative kept winning out until I stopped to really look at the view in front of me. And then a feeling came over me that I had yet to feel in those hours…thankfulness. I suddenly became very thankful for that time because it could have been worse in so many ways, and while it was definitely an unfortunate and not-so-ideal situation, God still allowed good to shine out of it (literally).
So, whatever ill-fated events or situations you find yourself in in this year to come, remember that God’s hand is always over you, protecting you. Our Father will always shelter us from the storm, even when we’re stuck smack-dab in the middle of a hurricane (or stranded alongside a highway on a wintery day).
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)
