they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind…  I knew the storm was coming but decided to do one more errand. By the time I’d gotten to the parking space in front of the store, the storm was directly over my head. The winds and rain were so fierce I couldn’t get out of my car. I even had to maneuver my way around a few shopping carts to get out of the lot. It took nearly two hours to get home because although the storm had passed over, the path of its destruction caused some of the largest trees to be uprooted and fallen across the roads that led me home. Driving home was like being in a maze as I encountered walls of trees at every turn. Frustrating as it was, my consolation was in the fact that having lived in the area for so long, I was familiar with the back roads. Some days are very much like this, finding our selves caught behind the destruction of a whirlwind that keeps us from accomplishing our goals. When we engage the adversity, whirlwinds seem to last forever! Our consolation is in our relationship with a God who knows all the back roads, gives us direction and leads us safely home.