Guided through the Storm
Life is like driving through a snowstorm—it helps to have a guide.
Illustrations by Michael J. Bingham
Some time ago, I felt impressed to embark on a road trip to visit family in Salt Lake City, an eight-hour drive from our home in Colorado. With little planning, I loaded up our three young daughters and began the trek. We left later in the day than was wise. My husband stayed behind due to prior commitments. It was an unseasonably warm October day both in Denver, where we lived, and in Salt Lake, so I grossly underestimated the wintry roads ahead as Interstate 80 crosses Wyoming.
We started our journey uneventfully, but temperatures dropped quickly as we gained elevation. I became nervous and full of doubt. Our van had new tires but no four-wheel drive. I hadn’t packed warm clothes or blankets. I was terribly unprepared for something to go wrong. I pulled over to check road conditions and decided to press forward, but a few hours later I was white-knuckle driving in the worst snowstorm of my life.
I laughed and sang with my kids so they wouldn’t sense my unease. I knew this stretch of interstate was no stranger to terrible weather-related accidents. Large snowflakes streaked past the windshield in heavy sheets and blurred my vision. I could hardly make out a landmark anywhere on the road.
I dreaded the occasional 18-wheeler throwing snow and slush across the windshield as it passed. I watched several vehicles slide off the road into ever-deepening snowbanks. I knew I was in trouble. The pressure I felt to keep my girls warm and safe weighed on me as we crept slowly along in the dark.
A Lifesaving Message
Suddenly, I felt my phone buzz with a notification.
I had been ignoring my messages to focus on the road but glanced down and saw that my brother, who I thought was home in Texas, had texted me: “We are passing through a bad blizzard in the middle of Wyoming.” I was surprised to learn that my brother and his wife were just a few miles ahead in the storm. They were en route to Idaho in a vehicle much safer than mine and well prepared for cold weather. Our intersection was no coincidence. The storm persisted, but I was not alone.
I called them. Relief washed over me as they talked me through the blizzard. At times, they didn’t have good news. At one point, fatigued from the tedious driving, I asked if the roads ahead had cleared up. “It’s pretty bad around mile marker 280,” my brother responded. “Take your time.”
Soon, I completely lost visibility and resorted to keeping my right front tire along the rumble strip on the side of the road. For many long minutes I continued forward, trusting only the sound of those vibrations to keep us safe on the road. Finally, the skies cleared, and I stopped for the night at a hotel, too exhausted to go on.
I never saw my brother and his wife, but I knew they were there. I didn’t realize how panicked I would have felt without their guidance until my kids were safe and warm in our hotel room. My brother’s knowledge of the specific path ahead gave me the perspective I needed to keep moving forward. Without him, my fear of the next snowy mountain pass might have left me highly reactive, and one anxious tap of the brakes could have sent us off the road.
Here I was, trying to make it to the safety and familiarity of my parents’ home, and my older brother showed up to trudge the path before me. How sad it would have been if I had driven this road never knowing that he was ahead and never accessing the peace available to me. Just as our Savior is there for us, my brother was there even when I couldn’t see him.
All Are Invited
Reflecting on this experience has deepened my testimony of many gospel truths. First, each and every one of God’s children on this earth is invited to walk with Jesus Christ in covenant relationship with Him. Just as I left late and prepared poorly for my trip, we may feel unqualified at times for the help only He can offer us. However, our inadequacy is not just OK; it’s expected. Do not allow the adversary to tell you otherwise.
As Paul said:
“I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
“Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:38–39).
In humility we can remember it is the Savior who qualifies us through His atoning sacrifice to walk with Him and receive His help. No efforts of our own would ever be enough without Him.
He Is Always There
I also learned that we are never as alone as we sometimes feel. The paths we are asked to walk in mortality can feel lonely. Our Heavenly Father doesn’t intend for us to always have blue skies. But in covenant relationship with the Savior, we can combat feelings of loneliness and despair. While our circumstances may not change and some trials may persist, Jesus Christ is always there and can enable us to find hope, peace, and joy even while we experience sorrow, disappointment, and pain. Just as I asked if the storm had passed and was told to stay the course, we may receive answers to be patient and vigilant amid the storms of life.
President Russell M. Nelson has made this emphatic promise:
“Jesus Christ extends [an] invitation to you today. I plead with you to come unto Him so that He can heal you! …
“Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. … Turn to Him! Follow Him!”
We can draw near to the Savior and increase our capacity to feel His presence through our commitment to daily prayer and scripture study, paying tithing, participating in sacred temple ordinances, honoring the Sabbath day, worshipping with other Saints, demonstrating our willingness to sacrifice and obey, and living the gospel in our daily lives. These regular acts of worship tether us to our Savior.
A Path of Protection
Lastly, I have reflected on the power of clinging to our covenants when the path forward is not clear. The rumble strip kept us safely on the road when I was unable to see. In an uncertain world and time, there remains a path of safety and peace. If I consider this rumble strip to represent the covenant path of my life, I can imagine critics mocking my “blind faith.” But my faith is not blind. I have never seen a rumble strip lead away from the road and wander into unknown terrain. My experience has taught me to use the strip to navigate through low visibility.
Similarly, the path set for us by the Savior through modern revelation is a path of protection. It requires constant, concentrated efforts to avoid deception and disorientation. Although the mists of darkness and diverse paths are real (see 1 Nephi 8:23–24, 31–32), we can find our way if we stay committed to Jesus Christ.
I believe that through these simple truths, we can keep our gaze focused on the Savior and receive His help. Bound to Him by covenant, we can accept our eternal potential, feel peace and joy knowing we are never alone, and find spiritual safety despite uncertain times.
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