The drive to Iowa

We left for Iowa on December 26th after Michael got off work. First things first...I will take a Colorado Springs winter over and Iowa winter any day!!!

In all the years I drove to Iowa solo, God showed mercy on me by giving me superb driving conditions through Colorado, Nebraska and Iowa! I think I hit a spitting of snow once, other than that, dry and clear from one state to the other.

This year, however, proved to be a little different. We experienced God's loving protection up close and personal....

We were just outside Adair, Iowa. Mom and dad called in a frightened panic and told me to listen to 1040 WHO...They had call0ins and were reporting adverse driving condtions that spanned pretty much the entire state of Iowa and down into Missouri and over into Illinois. They were reporting freezing rain, sleet, and ice qickly covering pretty much everything. Fortunately we had not seen anything of the sort. NOTHING but FRIGID COLD temps.
I pay very close attentions to mile markers and town/mile signs so that if anything ever happens, I know exactly where I am (a lesson I leared on a drive to Iowa about 6 years ago).

I made a mental note as we passed the "Des Moines 44 miles" sign. Within a couple wheel turns and clicks of the tires on the road...

"OH SH*T!!!! (I hit Michael to wake him up) What do I do? What do I do?"
No defensive driving skills and knowledge of getting out of a skid worked. I just saw the frigid world outside the truck spinning around us. We slid from one side of the road to the other. As we slid back to the other side of the road, we spun in circles a few times.

As I realized we were just going to have to ride it out, I gripped the steering wheel, closed my eyes and prayed, "OH DEAR GOD..." At that point, I heard some banging like rocks hitting the truck, some crunching and we came to a GRINDING HALT. I opened my eyes and where were in the median between the two interstate lanes.

Like I said, we experienced the almighty, loving protection of the Lord. No other cars were on the interstate...we didn't see an oncoming car in either lane for miles. We stayed on the interstate and did not descend the embankment when we slid to the right side of the road (there are a lot of places along the interstate that are in need of gaurd rails to protect cars from going off and into the rivers, trees, fields, streams and creeks found below). Michael and I got out of the truck and did not find any obvious damages, although we did find a lot of snow and chunks of ice torn up and strewn all over the road and median (the banging I heard).

We pulled back onto the interstate (heading West istead of East). The truck was working fine, we were fine and the kids uninjured but adrenline flowing! We turned around and headed East again and made it safely to Kari's place in Norwalk. There we relaxed and slept the day away....There was no going anywhere due to the ice strom that had set in.

No denying God's love and protection. He fulfilled His promise that He would send His angels over us to protect us.