A story of ice and prayers.

As the roads grew icier, I could tell my car was becoming less and less phased by my foot on the breaks. I turned my music down and began to pray out loud. Now, I haven’t prayed out loud by myself in years and now I’m wondering why; hearing my own pleads for safety coming from my mouth made them all the more believable. Time was passing as the sun quickly went down. And just as my phone hit one percent battery life, I looked around, wondering what road I was on.

I had driven this path dozens of times without fail, yet somehow in my panic of the icy roads, I had missed my turn. Obviously my thoughts went to the beginnings of a soon-to-be murder mystery, Girl, Murdered on Ice. With no phone to navigate with and darkness inevitably falling, I opened my mouth again. This time I prayed for a sense of direction (which I had previously been blessed with) and also, that I would stay on the road. Saying this, I glanced over the road’s shoulder at the +10ft. drop-off.

Stay on the Road. Stay on the Road.

Soon, I began to recognize my surroundings, knowing exactly where I was. Unfortunately, however, the roads had now turned into a complete sheet of ice. I was beyond thankful to now be within miles of destination. I could breathe more steadily as I knew that if my car plummeted off the side, I could walk the rest of the way. I had gotten my composure together long enough to miss the signs of oncoming traffic coming around the corner.

I swerved to avoid the truck, resulting in my teeny, tiny car to start spinning. I was heading for the drop-off. Once I stopped screaming at my fate, I looked out the windows where I was sure I would see the ditch, only to find the road. Feeling way too close to a cliff and facing the wrong direction, I stepped out of my car. I circled my car and found one back wheel ever-so-slightly hanging off the edge of the street. Somewhere above, I imagine God had a big smirk on his face as he replayed my prayers to “stay on the road.”

My wheels refused to stop spinning on the ice long enough to drive forward, but I was on the road. God sure has a sense of humor in my opinion. I had to join in the laughter (along with my picture of God’s grin) as two gentlemen tried to help push my car back on the road, only to fall to the ground in this nature-made ice rink.

I made it safely, shaking as I drove the final mile of my journey – thankful for my life, thankful for my answered prayers to stay on the road. Indeed, I had stayed on the road.

Some days I am reminded of the lessons God is trying to teach me continuously. He was hearing my prayers, whether or not they were being said out loud. My car just as easily could have slipped off the edge. However, it stopped soon enough to stay on the road. If my car hadn’t spun around, I would not have been able to get out of the driver side door. This way, I could safely step out onto the gravel. I could have been stranded in the dark miles beforehand had this mishap happened sooner. Instead, two men were there to help.

In reality, it seems as though God had my safety in mind all along.