About two weeks or so ago, the local weather forecasters predicted some freezing rain would hit this area in the wee small hours of the morning and that it would likely continue well into the morning commute. When I awoke at 3:55 a.m. and stumbled down to the basement gym, I glanced outside and noticed the pavement was bone dry. At 4:25 a.m. the local Fox 5 News channel began its morning “Storm Center” coverage with an opening sequence that included reporter Stacey Cohan (on “storm watch”) standing in front of some ominous looking front-loaders as they picked up giant scoops of salt for awaiting DOT road trucks. Concurrently, a growing litany of school and government closures scrolled across the bottom of the TV screen. This was understandable, because the tenth-of-an-inch of anticipated freezing rain accumulation (for those of you that live in North Dakota…that is no joke…that was the actual forecast) was so threatening that the Federal Government had announced a delayed 11 a.m. start time…and they had done so the night before (are folks in government really perplexed why their national polling numbers are low?). Fearing the apocalypse was upon us, I peered through the basement window, but again, it appeared the streets were still waterless.
When I left the house about 6:20, it was beginning to lightly drizzle and it was clear impending doom was not far off. Still, it was about 34 degrees so the rain wasn’t freezing. There were about 8 confirmed drops between my front door and car, so I put on my snow shoes before walking gingerly toward my vehicle and heading into work. I turned on the car radio, and though I didn’t connect the dots at the time, WASH FM got into the wintry spirit with their morning play list. As I drove by the VP’s residence down Mass Ave, a song began to play that I had never heard before. As soon as I heard the opening lyrics I feared where the story was going…and I was horrified to think that I could be listening to what may have well been entitled “Christmas Shoes II).
If you’re unfamiliar with the song Christmas Shoes, consider yourself the beneficiary of prayer. If you have an affinity for train wrecks, you can hear the song here by clicking Christmas Shoes I
This song playing on this particular morning starts out with a woman singing about another woman that was heading down the interstate to Cincinnati to visit her parents on a snowy Christmas Eve. For extra drama, her “baby” child was in the back seat (I presume in a car seat) and the vehicle was also low on gasoline. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the driver was also lamenting the fact that it had been a “long, hard” year. As if this alone didn’t telegraph pending disaster, the woman also had a lot on her mind, wasn’t paying attention and according to the lyrics, was driving “way too fast.” Well thankfully, unlike Christmas Shoes, the woman in this tune didn’t need to die so that her son could spend his last pennies on a new pair of shoes to ensure she looked good when she inevitably croaked later that evening. She did however need to hit a sheet of black ice before spinning into an harrowing Christmasy Interstate death spiral. You can imagine the terror (according to the lyrics, her life actually flashes before her eyes), so thinking fast, she threw up her hands and shouted “Jesus take the wheel.”
You can hear this song by clicking Jesus Take the Wheel
If you’ve ever read the bible or listened to Christmas Shoes, you already know full-well the son of god doesn’t limit his power to making the blind see, the lame walk, raising the dead or helping an underprivileged boy buy shoes on the night his mom kicks the bucket after a painfully long illness. In Jesus Take the Wheel, he apparently takes control of the vehicle and steers the spinning car safely over to the shoulder where both the woman and her baby escape unscathed. Sufficiently scared onto the straight-and-narrow after her icy near-death experience, the appreciative woman humbly bows her head and prays before continuing on her way to spend the holidays with her parents in Ohio.
Few would argue it was good the woman’s plea resulted in her spiraling vehicle making it safely out of harm’s way, however I could be wrong here, but seems to me a lot of heartache (and terror) could have been avoided by just a little more strategic and proactive praying. You see, instead of asking Jesus to take the wheel only after the car started to spin, the young woman could have asked for studded snow tires to appear as the snow began to accumulate, or even better, pre-empted the event and requested that he remove the black ice from the highway altogether (this would have been especially nice for the other drivers). Actually, if she truly thought it through, she could have asked Jesus to divert the winter storm just south of the Interstate so all could enjoy a safe Christmas Eve commute.
Now…if you’ve ever read one of these posts before, you already know I’m no brain surgeon. But even with my substantial cerebral limitations, I still know enough to stay away from controversial subjects like politics, music tastes, appropriate attire, why the NY Giants are truly evil and religion. So, consequently, there is no need to debate the existence of a divine being here. Actually, for purposes of this discussion, it doesn’t matter if you’re a bona fide believer, an ardent atheist, or probably like some folks...somewhere in the middle. The only case I’m making is if you’re going to pray…be bold. Think big and go beyond simply asking your higher power to take control of your car.
You see, this past weekend alone, there were several horrific car accidents in the metro region. On GW Parkway, a vehicle slammed into a tree and the driver was killed. There was also a police chase that resulted in at least three folks being killed (on Taylor Street in N.E.). On Route 50 there was also a horrendous head-on crash caused by a drunk driver that took the life of several motorists. On the same weekend, a woman on RT 544 struck a hunter that was crossing the road. The well-intended woman then stopped her car and attempted to assist the stricken hunter, however both were then killed by an oncoming car that plowed into the both of them.
So…what’s the point? Well, I guess as stated earlier, the goal should be to think big. Make your request for safe travel before you leave the house, and don’t wait until you’re spinning out-of-control at 60 mph on Christmas Eve to bow your head. Be bold, and ask for clear highways, good weather, responsible alcohol consumption and safe passage for all travelers. Ask for less poverty, a better environment, a cure for cancer, to stop hunger, to eradicate terrorism, to reduce domestic abuse and for world peace. If you pray to a higher power, don’t ask them to take control of your wheel…ask ‘em to take control of everybody’s wheel. That way…we just might just get a better world, and we may even avoid the need for terrifying icy death spirals…and the tragic loss of life that occurred on the roads this past weekend. Heck…we may even eliminate the need for a poor kid to have to go out and buy his dying mother Christmas shoes…on Christmas Eve.
One of the best gospel groups of all time is the Fairfield Four. Normally I wouldn’t be so bold to boast about a Friday Morning Song, but this morning’s tune is a genuine toe-tapping gem. It features Natalie Merchant, backed up by the famous gospel foursome. Kick back and take 5 minutes and 17 seconds to listen…you may even want to close your eyes and say a big picture prayer. Enjoy and have a wonderful and safe weekend.
BTW…if you want to hear a little more from the Fairfield Four…here is a classic.
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