God Never Ceases to Amaze Me

After my May/June trip I headed back to TX in August, this time by land instead of air. Anticipating an extended stay due to the hubby's temporary southern work detail and continuingfamily stuff, my dad graciously offered to fly up to WA and then drive down with me and two of the horses (and the dogs and cat). Ranger couldn't make the trip, due to still recovering from his spring fling with founder, so Bailey and Scout were the two travelers.

Let me just say that the past few months have been hell....just plain hell. It feels like life has been completely up-in-the-air for us (the whole family, all-around). Now, don't get me wrong, I know I have PLENTY to be happy about and thankful for, but that doesn't mean life's troubles don't sometimes get me down. I just try my hardest to give it over to God at those times. I kept having to re-adjust my travel plans for one crisis after another. I also had to move up my dad's flight so we could leave two weeks earlier than planned. And a good thing I did. My nephew was back in the hospital twice in a matter of a couple weeks. Also, my grandmother had been in the hospital most of the time since March and things were not getting better. It started with a broken hip and arm and then compounded with one issue after another...celiac's disease, heart issues, breathing issues, you name it. She had just gone back into the hospital with breathing and heart issues when dad and I left on the 14th of August. We were planning to take 3 1/2 days to get to where the husband is staying temporarily and then head on to Texas in a short 1/2 day trip. We made it to Cheyenne, WY and woke up to thick fog which delayed our departure by over 2 hours. Little did we know how that irritating delay would pay off later.

After about 20 minutes on the road that morning, my dad's brother called with news that my grandmother was not doing well and they were scrambling to get a last-minute second opinion on her heart condition. We were on stand-by at that point, waiting for an update to determine if we should head straight to Texas that day or continue with Plan A. The call came at around lunch that we should drive straight through. When we started into New Mexico, we called home for a weather report from mom because we could see huge storms brewing in Texas. We decided the best bet would be to head for Lubbock instead of Amarillo. As we drove on, the storms started looking more and more ominous. Just past Clovis, NM we could see heavy, dark black clouds in our path and to the south of us. We called home again for another update...should we turn around or keep going? Before I continue, you should know that one of my worst fears is the combination of horses and storms. I am deathly afraid of my horses being struck by lightning (thanks, Peggy), being hailed on, having the trailer struck by lightning, and getting caught in a tornado while trailering. A little neurotic, I know...but I am, by nature, a worrier. Remember that post about when I first realized Ranger had foundered and how I though about fifty-million thoughts at once...yep, that's me. You thought horse-crazy meant you are crazy about horses...it really means, you are a person who is crazy and just happens to have horses. :)

Anyhow, my sister told us that the storm in front of us was moving off and was no cause for concern but that the one to our south was bad...it has two different mesocyclones forming, meaning there was some potential for tornadic conditions. Ha! You thought I was crazy! Me trailering horses and tornadoes do not mix. She also told us that if we just hauled butt we would beat it to Lubbock. She was so right and I was so thankful. We made it to Lubbock and turned south and there was the clearest, most beautiful star-filled sky I thought I had ever seen! We literally dodged storms all afternoon and were barely even rained on! What I didn't mention earlier was that before we headed into Clovis, dad and I prayed that God would guide us through and clear a path, and boy, did He ever! We also saw the most amazing, most brilliant, full double rainbow as we were leaving Clovis. It reminded me of God's promise to Noah after the great flood. It was a beautiful reminder of God's faithfulness and I felt a little better after that. Well, until I heard "mesocyclones". So, back to the fog...if we had left on-time that morning we would have run smack-dab into that first big nasty storm in Clovis. I don't doubt God was looking out for us that day. He knew how badly we needed to get to south Texas and He was with us the whole way. We finally pulled into the drive at almost 6 am. We had been driving for over 20 hours straight without so much as a flat tire or a single sick horse. I was never so glad to be in Texas.

Fortunately, we were able to head to the hospital after a couple hours of shut-eye and see my grandmother. Unfortunately, she was mostly unresponsive, though we think she could hear us, and she passed away two days later. God did help me make it home to see her and tell her, once more, how much I loved her. Thank you, Lord. Now, she is home with Him and though I miss her terribly, I am also thankful for her life.

My sweet Nana

Morning fog in Cheyenne (spotted bison in distance)

Storms popping up in NM

The biggie between Clovis and Lubbock...stretched for 100's of miles

(we could see it out the driver's side window across the windshield, and out the passenger side window)

west of Clovis

north end of the double rainbow

storm to the south of us...it was a lot closer by the time we were approaching the TX-NM state line.

south end of the double rainbow