The Snowy Drive

As friends in the Northeast were hit by a blizzard this week, I recalled this devotional article I had written several years ago. Its truth is timeless, no matter what the weather may be.

The Cardinal in the Snow

Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. So don’t be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29 and 31 (CEV)

I inched slowly through a snow-covered, desolate rural area in my small car. The icy, snow-packed county road, untouched by a road grader, was punctuated only with ruts made by three-quarter-ton feed trucks. My little vehicle frequently scraped the frozen snow piled up on the road.

A prayer remained on my dry lips. I wouldn’t have been out on this practically impassable thoroughfare if I had not expected school to be in session the following day. Having spent the weekend with my elderly parents at their farm, I had hoped to receive a call of school cancellation. It appeared that a “snow day” would not materialize. So I needed to get to my home.

I swallowed hard, licked my parched lips, took a deep breath, and resumed my unrelenting supplication of “Lord, help me” as I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my hands ached. Briefly, I glanced to the left out my car window and was astonished by what I saw.

A male cardinal with vibrant, scarlet feathers alighted near the side of the road. At that moment, that gorgeous bird and I were the only living organisms visible on that isolated stretch of road. Instantly I thought of what Jesus said about the heavenly Father’s value of the small, dullish-brown sparrow. Then He immediately followed with the comforting words, So don’t be afraid. Now He had lovingly placed this crimson fowl of beauty as a vivid reminder, “You are not alone. I am with you and will protect and care for you.”

Why in our anxiety and angst are we often blind to God’s reminders? Do we seek for His visual promptings sent daily to make us aware of His care for us or do we instead rush to worry and fret?

Lord, thank you for the many times You make Yourself known to us in our anxious moments by reminding us of Your promises. Forgive our tendency to worry first then trust You later. May our eyes always look for You revealing Yourself to us in our daily lives. Make us aware that You want to transform our trepidation into trust and our fear into faith.

This photograph of Dad and Frodo was taken on Saturday, March 1, 2003. The record snowfall began 
on Sunday, February 23. That was the day I was driving from the farm in the Big Bend to Fairfax,
where I lived and taught school. School was cancelled on February 24-26. Incidently, no matter how
cold, icy, or inclement the weather, until Dad had the stroke at age 92, he never allowed the weather 
to keep him inside. He told my sister during his 92nd winter that he "got good at falling." Fortunately,
 he broke no bones as he practiced falling that winter!