Fog

It was a cloudy day. Not just cloudy but the clouds were sitting very low in the sky. In fact when we woke up the clouds were just 20 feet above the water, or so it seemed.  We were in Geiranger, Norway at the Geiranger Fjord. Our plan for the day was to back track the way we arrived and take pictures. What we didn’t consider is that we would need to drive many switchbacks up the mountain into a cloud.

We started out and it wasn’t bad; we drove higher and higher and suddenly we realized we were driving right into the cloud. By this time we were on the narrow, switchback road with no pull off’s to speak of. This road is heavily traveled by locals, tourists and tour buses. Periodically there were places along the road to pull over and take photos, etc. But these places were just a small half circle, enough for one car.

With every turn we were going deeper into the cloud. It was like being in an airplane when it flies through the clouds, you look out the window and all you see is white. That’s exactly what we were driving in. We had a GPS in the rental car so Bill was looking at it and telling me what to expect up ahead. He could tell if the switchback was going to the right or left but that was all. I expected one of these turns would start to bring us up and out of this fog we were in. But, each one just brought us deeper into it.

By this time I was going very slow; just creeping along. We literally couldn’t see 5 feet in front of us. The entire time I’m praying. Praying to find a place to pull over, praying for the cloud to lift, praying that we would drive out of the cloud. We’d see the small pull over places but we didn’t see them until we were right next to them and it was too late. We both were looking very closely at the edge of the road to find a pull off. Finally, we saw a small place that we could use. I pulled over and as I did, we could see a little bit more so I drove a little deeper in; we parked and got out and realized that it was a large area, with a picnic table and everything!  We stayed there and watched the cars go by, most of them were going scary fast in our estimation.

I continued to pray and thank Jesus that He had gotten us to this place. I prayed that the cloud/fog would lift so we could return back down the mountain safely.  At one point it got a little breezy and the cloud did clear a little bit — not much but it seemed like a lot to us at the time. However, we thought it would continue to clear up and we waited and what happened is the breeze stopped and it got thick again.  Bill decided that he was going to drive and we would just go. Going down the mountain it would improve with each turn. We got in the car and were getting ready to pull out when we noticed that there was a tour bus coming; we waited for it and Bill got in right behind it. We had an escort out of there! Thank you Jesus!

This experience is so much like life. There are so many times I make a decision that is really bad and if I would just use a little wisdom and look around, the answer is clear and it’s in front of me. But because I can have such narrow vision, I don’t do that, I don’t see it. So, I make bad decisions and get behind the wheel and go. Then when I realize it was a bad decision, I start praying; I pray for it to go away, I pray for me to be able to get through it quickly and I pray for a break; a place to pull over. But usually none of these things come to me at that point and I just have to keep moving forward because I have no other way to go at the time. I don’t know how to get out. But, I’m not alone I have prayer, the Bible and Christian friends.

I slowly and carefully continue and what’s usually up ahead at least for a little while is more of the same just a different turn, a different direction. I just get deeper and deeper in and I get more blind as I go.

Just when I think I can’t take it anymore, Jesus shows me just a little hope and I go for it, slowly and carefully and eventually He opens my eyes to a broad and spacious place! A place of safety. A place where I can think, regroup, stretch my legs and praise Him for showing me this turn around spot. Then when I’m ready he sends someone or something to gently and slowly lead me out and back to being grounded and having a broader vision.