Snowed in – and safe
A few days before the storm I was in the one-room post office in town getting my mail when the clerk asked if I’d heard that a snow storm might be coming. She was concerned since my husband at that time had gone out of state to work for a few weeks and I was alone with the children so far from town without a phone. (This was in the days before cellphones!) I told her we were just fine and not to worry. But after the snowstorm, I was very worried.
When I opened the door to the stairs, I just saw a wall of snow. I dug my way up the stairs and realized just how deep the snow was; it was higher than my waist, making it impossible to walk. The snow drifts were incredibly high, and I couldn’t tell where my car was. I couldn’t even get to the wood pile next to the house that supplied our fuel for heat. Our house was a long distance from the main road, making it impossible to get help. The wind was bitter cold and fierce as it kept blowing snow back into the stairwell. After a few minutes, I realized my only choice was to go back inside, get quiet, and pray.
I had been raised in Christian Science and was taught that God was always available to help us, no matter where we were, and no matter what the circumstances. The Bible states, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1). Well, I was in big trouble and also had the responsibility of my two children. But I could trust that God would never leave us without help.
I got out my Bible and Science and Health, by Mary Baker Eddy, to study and pray while the children played. As I read accounts in the Bible of people who turned to God for help and were fed, clothed, protected, and cared for, I knew that God would help protect and care for us, too. I also found such comfort and hope in this statement in Science and Health: “To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings” (p. vii). We had enough food in the house to last for a few days, and I was happy to be able to keep the wood stove burning, which was our only source of heat. It was so cold outside that the cinder-block wall at the other end of the basement had frost on the inside. We didn’t have our propane tank hooked up to our stove yet, so I cooked on top of the wood stove. We did have electricity, so I was grateful for the lamp we had for light.
The next day, one of the children asked, “Can God find us here?” I told them that God was here already. I had just read from Psalms where it speaks of God’s presence being everywhere: “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there” (139:8). I also remembered this promise from the 23rd Psalm: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (verse 6), or as Mary Baker Eddy paraphrased, “. . . in the house [the consciousness] of [Love] for ever” (Science and Health, p. 578). We were all in God’s presence and love. And Love would keep us safe and cared for. Humbly I reached out to God. The thoughts came: “You are precious in His sight. He is caring for all of you, and you are all His children. You can trust His presence and tender care for all of you, and you can never be separated from Him.”
Due to the subzero temperatures outside and the fierce winds, I did not go back outside to try to shovel snow, feeling it was impossible for me to get through. But the children kept me busy, and I was grateful I had plenty of time to pray. As I continued to pray, I was turning my thoughts from fear to gratitude; I was grateful for God’s presence, I was grateful for the few pieces of wood that we still had to burn for heat. I was grateful for each bit of food that we had. I was grateful for these precious children.
No matter where we are, whether we feel we are buried financially, mentally, or physically, God's presence and power are there to save us, help us, and heal us.
My family lived a few hundred miles away in another state and later they told me they were not aware that the conditions were so severe. Every time frightening thoughts came, such as: “You are all alone and no one can help you. We will either freeze or starve to death here,” I would counter them with the “truth” that God’s presence and power were right there to sustain us. I knew this truth worked as a saving law of God. In the Bible this law was evidenced, for example, when the Red Sea parted so that Moses could lead the children of Israel to safety. Also, this saving and protecting law of God was seen when Daniel was protected in the lion’s den and when Jesus fed the multitudes with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish. God’s law of grace, love, protection, and provision is always here for His children; and because this is true, we had nothing to be afraid of. The Bible records many healings that Jesus accomplished, and he told his followers, “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). These healings demonstrate God’s all-presence and power.
Mrs. Eddy explained in Science and Health, “Trials are proofs of God’s care” (p. 66). While it seemed impossible for me to see right then how this could be, I trusted that God’s care would become tangible for our little family. I could feel the fear drain away and a gentle peace come over me as I understood the fact that God was right there, He was our companion, our comforter, our provider, our very life.
It took three or four days, but one day we heard a car engine in the distance. The children were so excited. It slowly got closer and then it was quiet. After some time, we heard some faint noises and then a banging on the door. Someone had found us! It was an elderly man who had come to look for us. He said he had overheard my conversation in the post office a few days before. This man had a Jeep with a snowplow and was responsible for plowing out some of the residents in town. After the storm, he said he had trouble falling asleep each night worrying that we might be in trouble. He didn’t know if we had left town or not, and told his wife he was very concerned. After he had completed all his contracted plowing in town, he made his way out to our house. He said he just had a strong feeling that he needed to get to us. It took him five hours to plow from the main road to our house, and he wasn’t even sure that we were home. He then shoveled his way from his Jeep to the house and down the stairs. He said he was just so relieved to find us doing well. This dear man took us into town to stay with a family he knew until the weather improved. Needless to say, I was so deeply grateful.
No matter where we are, whether we feel we are buried financially, mentally, or physically, God’s presence and power are there to save us, help us, and heal us. In the Bible, the prophet Isaiah holds this comforting promise for us: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isa. 59:1). Everyone is always in His loving care; we can trust and know there is a law of God available to help us wherever we are.
