He Tempers Every Wind That Blows

Wednesday, January 16, 2008. Four to eight inches of snow was predicted, and I had an hour and a half drive to make on winter roads to reach the Chicago, O'Hare airport tomorrow where my son would be waiting, newly returned from the Indianapolis Indiana mission. The forecast was so dire that Thursday evening events and meetings were being cancelled in advance.

My son wanted to attend the Chicago temple, had anticipated this and waited for it. But snow was expected to fall throughout the day, with "snow" changing to "snow showers" right during the mid-afternoon hours when we'd be traveling home....if we stayed to go to the temple and did not just return straight from the airport.

I prayed, telling Heavenly Father my concerns about driving and about my son returning home (he and his step-Dad do not have the easiest relationship). I prepared myself for either possibility, knowing that prayers are not always answered the way we want. Then I went to bed.

I woke up to the words and sound of a song my Dad and Mom used to sing from a little red hymnbook, so old that the pages were yellow and strings hung from its spine. It went like this,

He knows, my Father knows,
He knows, of course he knows,
The storms that would my way oppose.
He knows, my Father knows,
He knows, I'm sure he knows,
And tempers every wind that blows.

As you can probably guess, the drive to Chicago was uneventful. My son and I were able to attend the temple. There is a distribution center right there, and after the session we stopped to purchase some items. The clerk, who had been watching the snowfall told us, "Isn't this snow incredible? It's been falling like that most of the day and you can't even tell by looking at the ground."

It was incredible. This "magic snow" (my words) fell all the way back home. The roads were practically perfect. I felt it was an answer to my prayer that the storm had been tempered for me, and also that I could take courage in the face of other storms I anticipated--that God would be there for me.