A harrowing experience

For six days I hadn’t driven into town because of snow packed road conditions. About noon I decided to make a trip to the grocery store. I was assured by a person who works in town that the road I needed to take had thawed from the last snow storm and was drivable.

As I turned the corner to the road all I could see was a white sheet of fresh ice. Apparently the road had thawed the day before, but because it got so cold last night the water left behind froze again. There was absolutely nothing I could do except take a deep breath grip the steering wheel and drive slow. My trip was about two miles, but it seemed like fifty. I dreaded each stop sign and pretty much ignored them after making sure nothing was coming from either direction.

By the time I arrived safely at the store my back and neck were stiff from the stressful situation I had endured. I don’t think I have ever been so scared. As I sat in my car trying to relax I didn’t know how I was going to get back home again.

The first person I saw inside the store was my son-in-law who works there. I stopped to talk to him about my ordeal and began to feel a little better. Although he sympathized with my situation there was obviously nothing he could do to help me. Even in his pickup he said he had trouble getting to work.

I spent as much time in the store as possible before returning to my car. Maybe I was hoping an angel would wave a magic wand and make the ice just go away while I was shopping. Dream on!

As I pulled out of the parking lot I paused for a minute dreading the thought of driving back over that ice covered road just waiting for an accident to happen. Following my intuition I turned right instead of left and decided to take another route home. I didn’t know what I would find, but decided anything had to be better than going back the same way I had come.

I found myself repeating over and over, “guide me to a safe way home”.

Although the roads I was led to take had some snow none were snow packed or icy. Before long I was on a main road that had been plowed. Getting home from there was a straight shot. I was very grateful for my unseen guide.

I later called my son-in-law and passed on the information of a safer route home when he got off work.