Help Me Get Home

Okay, now that I've stopped shaking, I'm going to recap what just happened (like literally 10 minutes ago).

First a few disclaimers:
1. I may be a chicken about a lot of things, but I've done some pretty crazy things too
       example A: cliff jumping. example B: climbing an active volcano
2. I haven't been afraid of a storm since I was about 13-years-old. Ever sense then, I've loved storms. (until today)

So today was the beginning of fall break. After I finished my paper I took off to come back to Litchfield. I was watching the sun set and saw some dark clouds and rain off to one side of the pinks and oranges. For the next three hours I watched the rain trek toward my car. At this point, I still thought it was cool. When I got just outside of Wilmar (half an hour away from my home town) my mom called just to see how the drive was going. I told her that I was watching a storm roll toward me and that the lightning was getting pretty close. She told me I should think about pulling over, but it was only sprinkling at this point so I told her nothing was happening and it was fine. 5 minutes later, the radio station I was listening went out and when it came back the DJ said "that, ladies and gents, was a lightning strike" immediately after that a gust of wind jerked my car and sheets of rain started coming down; I couldn't see anything. I pulled over in the Target parking lot and sprinted for the doors that were being held closed by some of the employees. I stood with some other people by the doors for a long while watching the rain sweep across the parking lot. 20 minutes later I was talking to a woman who had a radar up on her phone, she said she was going to Litchfield too and now would be a good time to go because it's the lightest its going to be before the storm wraps around and comes back through. I didn't think it was such a great idea, the rain was still coming down pretty hard, but I decided to trust this random stranger and we sprinted to our cars together. She totally ditched me, stopped at an Arby's drive through; cool, lady.

I still decided to try to get home and in my head asked God to send me a different car to follow home. He didn't, every car that I got behind would eventually turn off. Tonight was the first time I've gripped my steering wheel so hard my hands hurt, the first time that the only reason I knew I was still on the road was because of the rumble stripes I kept hitting, the first time I cried while behind the wheel, the first night I was literally shaking while driving. (I know what you're thinking...'and you kept driving, why?' I honestly don't know the answer to this question. But tonight was also the first time I called to God out loud out of fear. I practically screamed to Jesus to help me, just to help me get home. Now, the fear may have been an over reaction. But when there is not a car on the road going faster than 40, and I can't see the lines on either side of me, and I am constantly hydroplaning, I get a little freaked out.

As I was driving, I had to keep reminding myself not to look out the windows at the lightning or the rain. I just needed to focus my eyes forward and focus on getting home. I realize now that I need to keep those things in mind as I'm walking through metaphorical storms in my life. Don't look out the windows and dwell about the scary things happening around me, cry out to God and focus on getting Home to Him.

Holy buckets, am I glad I'm home.
Moral of the story:
1. learn from every situation
2. don't dwell on the storm going on around you, focus on our God who is stronger than the storm (whether that be a literal storm or a metaphorical one)
3. don't listen to random women in target who tell you to go home. they will ditch you for Arby's