Well, my friends, it has been a winter wonderland recently out here at #Itsnotta Farm! The big fluffy flakes are still coming down as I type tonight, and it is supposed to keep coming for a few more hours… here’s hoping I can get out to work tomorrow! Which is where my muse meets us for this week’s post: travelling home from work last week! Usually, by the time I am heading home from work it is beginning to get dark. My commute is about 12 minutes on a good day… along two fairly decent two lane “highways”. One day last week was whiteout conditions. Now, when the weatherman says whiteout out here, it means the snow drifts across the farmer’s fields… and with the predicted 100 kilometer winds, the snow piled up deep and fast!

So here was my scenario… it’s dark, the wind is whipping across the fields, driving snow over and across the roads. It’s not bad driving along until: BAM you hit the snow drift at 60 clicks. Cars were spun out and dotting the road here and there. I moved slow and tried to see ahead for the dangers… almost home. Just before the turn off onto our street… flashing yellow lights. Big 18 wheeler in the ditch and the flatbed tow truck in my lane. Okay angels, get me around and back into my own lane safely…phew. Signal well in advance to turn… here I go….and OOOF.

I literally could not see in front of my face… the snow was blowing so hard between our two farmers fields I could not see… and the snow drift it created was about 3 feet high. Do I gun it and hope I make it only to get stuck deep in the middle of the drift? Do I call it here? Do I turn around and head back 10 minutes and try my luck at the other end of the road? Quick prayers and call for help. “Hi honey… I am abandoning the car here at the end of the road and walking home… no I can’t see, yes, I am fine, yes …I suppose it is stuck….I have boots…” I struggle to put my boots on and hit the flashers. I am now a country girl… I can do this. I’m so close to home, I made it this far… I can’t feel my face…

Just then, I see the head lights of a large truck… my farmer neighbour pulls up along the other side of the now 30 foot long drift. I smile my dumb-city-girl-moved-to-the country-and-can’t-drive-in-the-snow smile. “You okay? I’m going to go get my plow… be 15 minutes” as he drives his big truck through and back around. (At least now the wind had died down enough to see each other). Another set of headlights on the other end of the drift… Hubby has arrived! I drudge through the pile of snow, bare feet shoved in winter boots, purse, keys, lunch bag and shoes gathered around me as the wind whipped at my face like a scene from some crazy adventure story… I hopped in the van and drove home while my superhero hubby waited for the good Samaritan farmer to come back with the plow to get the car through. I am sure they both had a laugh at my expense and an exchange of words about country weather. I thank them both for “rescuing me”.

As I thought about this, I wonder how many times have people needed to be rescued in life? Many of us. In fact, I am guessing all of us at some point need rescuing. We go through life’s trials slowly… trying to see ahead and making cautious choices to move around the flashing yellow lights. We put the high beams on and press forward. We almost make it home… and then we turn the corner and get hit with the drift that is just too big to plow through without help.

Are you hearing it, my friend? Have you been there struggling to put on your boots when you can’t feel your face and plan to “walk home” leaving the troubles behind? Luckily, God provides a Way. He sends community to help. It’s not just coincidence that neighbours just happen to be out driving in snowstorms. Phone calls are readily available. In 2025, we have no excuses not to check in on one another. Many of us are blinded by our surroundings. We can’t feel our faces, but we are determined to make it on our own. Until we get stuck. I was in no real danger. Yet, many of us are hiding our troubles, cruising along on our own until: BAM we hit the drift full force. Joyfully, God is right there waiting for us… we simply need to ask… and He’ll plow the way and clear the storm. He doesn’t promise the snow will stop, or that the wind won’t blow…. but He’ll be there to dig us out of the ditch when we veer off the road.

So, beloveds, if you don’t need rescuing this week… be the neighbour. Bring the plow around and clear the way for someone else to maneuver through the snowdrifts of life. Be there at the other end of the call when someone threatens to walk home alone like a crazy person. Flash the yellow lights and be a guide for what may be ahead. Protect and pray. I’ll be thinking of you as we dig our way out of this current dumping … and hoping I make it to work in the morning! Blessings, my friends!