Led Not Into Temptation - This Time - Well Almost!

Another Sunday... another snowstorm or so it seems. And, today we canceled our worship celebration. Believe me. It was not without careful consideration.

Up again at 4 a.m. And, then I skated to my car. After chipping away the ice to find the keyslot, she started just fine. Certainly, its warm up time was necessary. So, back into the house I slipped, slid, and slushed.

Then, it occured to me. How much different is it than last week's ride to New Life early Sunday morning? What am I thinking? I booted up the computer and put her in gear. Ice, snow, sleet, winter warnings, and the litany went on. My kind of weather I thought to myself. And... I almost put my hiking boots back on my feet as images of being stuck in last week's snow drift on Vilas Road returned to me.

There I was one week ago 4:30 a.m. Making my way to my spiritual preparations for worship on a much too cold and blustery winter morning. I love this stuff! Snow, wind, slip-sliding along. I always feel power when tempted by the elements. I don't know why. Perhaps innate, primitive survival instincts, but I get revved up to be on the road. Ice is not an obstacle. Its just a challenge.

I was making good time dipping and doodling between snow drifts and feeling the tires beg to grip the pavement. And, with only about 2 miles left on the journey, it was almost conquered despite all of the elements. Then, a drift or two lay ahead in the road. Speed up and blast through! Thats the way to handle these things. No fear! Boldly go where no man has yet gone before this morning. Blaze the trail! Man up and do it!

When I hit a small drift, it slowed me a bit. But onward and up the hill I persisted. Another drift and then another. Childplay! Then they got a bit bigger. Wham! The snow flew past my windows. And, wham! But, then the wham went whump! My wheels started spinning and I was adrift on a drift in the middle of the road.

I kicked at the snow and managed to roll a few more feet in the next hour. And, when the wrecker finally arrived two hours later to pull me to freedom, I felt humbled. No, better... humiliated. I had known better than to give into the the tempation to believe I was manning a monster snowdozzer rather than a slight of a vehicle. But...

So today, I jumped into my same readied car and made for the open road, thinking it couldn't possibly happen to me again. I was better for the experience. I was much better prepared. I had learned and would not give into my temptations to go where I was not prepared to go. After about 2.5 miles from home I realized that being humbled by the elements is not such a bad thing. It's the humiliation of being overwhelmed by them that challenges one's masculine prowess. So... I turned around and made my way home.

Temptations I learned are not bad in themselves. They bring some challenges and remind us what we're made of. They can build character or tear it down. They can leave a person stranded and adrift or they can make one proud when he just walks away... er, drives away.