When I was a brash, young consultant, I did a fair bit of traveling across the Midwest, and I really miss it. I knew before taking another job, I wanted to have the ability to travel more than I had done. Being that I’m still relatively young and unattached, I still desire to travel to new locales.
In the last 8 weeks, for work, I have been as far north as Sturtevant, Wisconsin and as far south as Pass Christian, Mississippi. While all this travel can be tiring and at times, a hassle, it has been good to see the open road again.
In the last 8 weeks, I have ducked several major Spring weather systems. In March, while in Chicago, we missed several decent snow opportunities. In April, a tornado passed within 2 miles of where I live, causing destruction and havoc in its wake. Just last week, I found out that the very same system that cause my area’s tornado, dropped a tornado less than a mile from my Grandparents last home. As the south leaves the early Spring, our severe weather chances become less, but just days into May, provided what might have been the best duck of them all.
Last week, I was on the road with work in Little Rock, Arkansas. The seminar/forum lasted from Tuesday until Wednesday afternoon, with some optional training that would have lasted until 4:30pm on Friday. Seeing as how I had completed the very same training less than a year ago, and the fact that I live approximately 6 hours from Little Rock, I made a beeline out of Central Arkansas on Wednesday. I was disappointed to leave the 4-star hotel with the barnyard animals in the lobby, but it turned out to be a very good thing that I did.
On Friday, May 2nd, a little before 7pm local time, an EF-2 tornado was crossing the very same highway that I had traveled down two days prior. If I had not previously had the optional Friday afternoon training, I would have been approximately in the location pictured above at approximately the same time that the pictures were taken. To say the least, it’s a very harrowing thought.
Of course, there is a good bit of the what-if game played here, but really think about it… what if? What if my promotion had been delayed a couple of months? What if I had not been able to sit for the class? What if I had been in Little Rock on Friday? What if I had been on that lonely patch of road at a couple of minutes before 7pm?
In the end, I’m very glad those what ifs never did come to fruition. I’m glad that I was safely at home while those in Arkansas dealt with the tumultuous weather. I’m glad to know that no one was killed in the storm that produced the tornado.
Some people need large scale, global miracles before they can consent to the idea of there being a God. Some people feel comfortable mocking God for not providing such miracles. The sad fact of the matter is that these people are missing the fact that these miracles still do occur. If all had not been guided into place over these past 10 months, there is no doubt in my mind, those what ifs would have been a very real reality.
Sometimes, we need to stop and realize that divine providence is one of His greatest daily miracles. I am thankful I got the opportunity to re-learn this lesson the easy way.
