Sandals And Snow

Sandals and Snow

I should have watched the Weather Channel. Just because it’s sweltering in Texas doesn’t mean the rest of the country has obediently followed suit. For a spring trip to Colorado I had packed light: a pair of jeans. Black slacks. A couple of jackets. Two skirts. And three pairs of really cute sandals. Imagine my surprise to wake up the morning after my arrival, pull aside the drapes, and see white. Everywhere. Real, live flurries had covered everything as far as I could see, and the snow was still coming down. Tiny icicles clung to the rails of the balcony, and the steely gray sky showed no sign of clearing.

The slopes had closed the week before, but God wasn’t done depositing fresh powder. I had imagined in my downtime I would walk through the smallish ski town in my sandals, jeans, and a T-shirt, but I had imagined wrong. In fact, I didn’t leave the hotel once from the time I arrived to the morning I left again for the flight home. I simply wasn’t dressed for it.

Inside at the conference, I was the idiot speaker from Texas who was very nearly barefoot. Colorado girls know better than to expect spring just because the calendar says April. They had boots and sweaters and layers of warm, fleecy shirts. I had sandals in the snow.

Sometimes life throws you an unexpected curve. Sometimes you arrive for your assignment laughably unprepared. Sometimes you trust your instincts, and your instincts are wrong. Sometimes you just fail to consult the experts to know what might be in store.

Regardless, God goes on ahead. He’s ready for anything, even if I am not. I had conversations in my downtime at the hotel that I might have missed if the days had been sunny. Instead, I met some amazing women and listened unhurriedly to their stories—stories I might never have enjoyed had I been better prepared. I arrived with a set of expectations—and a suitcase full of clothes—that didn’t exactly fit the occasion. But God knew what I’d need. He always does. In fact, sandals and snow might have been part of his plan all along.

The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:9, NASB