Well, I guess I cannot come up with something better than ‘A Lion’ after all – fierce, strong, and beautiful! Yesterday was probably one of the strangest weather days we have seen down here. The day began at almost 60 degrees and raining, then at 4pm (just like the weathermen predicted, I have to add) the sound outside changed. No longer was it the pitter-pat of rain – it became the ticking time bomb sound of ice. The school day, and most of the work day had happened before the switch but all at once everyone was rushing for home. Local commutes took at least double the time for those who waited till the ice began. Eric had (thankfully) already decided to work from home due to the threat but youth group for the girls was canceled for the third week in a row! For the next 8 hours or so we had a sleet ‘downpour’, complete with occasional thunder and lightning! At some point in the night it finally switched over to snow, leaving the beautiful scene here.
A snow like this shuts down everything here in Little Rock – OK, a lot less snow than this shuts it all down, too! These past few weeks have shut down the FamilyLife offices 5 days in the last 3 weeks, and right now Friday opening looks questionable due to temperatures remaining below freezing all day today. Little Rock simply does not have the equipment to clear the roads without the help of Mother Nature – only about 8 snow plows for the whole metro area.
The truly crazy thing about this for our household is how it has come on the heels of Eric’s viral infection. That diagnosis came at the end of December, leading to working from home as much as he could around the pain. As he began to feel better he began working from the office more days of the week, but had not yet done a full week back before this weather craziness hit. I guess God decided Eric needed a bit more recoup time since no one at FamilyLife has had a full office week in a while – ha! Seriously, though, we are praising God that Eric is feeling well enough to want a full office week! Also, pray with us for FamilyLife leadership as they try to get things done through these odd work weeks. With the Weekend to Remember season in full swing, we have many staff members traveling around the country and the weather is not cooperating!
One more weather story – last Wednesday – after two days of being off for bad weather – there was another snow predicted for mid-day. This time the temperatures were expected to help the Little Rock area but Charissa and I were heading to TX where the temps were less cooperative. We were driving down with Luke, Charissa’s debate partner, and his Mom – born and bred Southerners – so there was a lot of debate of if we should go or not. Finally I offered to drive through any bad weather and off we went, straight through the heart of the storm. After all my years up north, this drive through AR and TX snow was one of the worst. I felt we were safe with moderate speeds and not trying to zoom around trucks, but many southern drivers were in the ditches! Was it worth it? Well, we had a great time at the tournament, met some new TX friends, and Charissa placed 1st and 4th in some of her speeches but the main highlight? Luke and Charissa were one of the two finals debate teams – competing in that final round of debate before 7 judges and an auditorium full of observers! They came in second overall, but this was their best finish so far! This placing guarantees their invitation to Nationals for debate, and Charissa is already qualified in a few different speech events. Keep us in your prayers as we sort out the logistics of getting to Bob Jones University in May for the National Invitational Tournament of Champions (NITOC)!
