Through It to Do It

Well, well, well ... it's finally here. Winter in Kansas has definitely arrived ... I guess it's time since it is December after all. And with the arrival of some bitterly cold temperatures came our first dusting of snow yesterday, which means that it took me flipping forever to get to work. What is it about a little rain or snow that causes every person who is driving on the interstate toward downtown to drive so stinking slowly? And now the weather guys are forecasting two to four inches of snow on Sunday, which means that Monday morning's commute will be a nightmare. Since I have a Subaru with all-wheel drive, I'm not afraid to drive in the snow; in fact, it's really kind of fun to maneuver my way around in my Subie when the white stuff covers the roads ... well, it would be fun anyway if everyone else would just get out of my way and let my awesome car do what it was built to do. I must admit, however, that I wasn't always so brave when it comes to driving in the snow. When I drove a car with front-wheel drive, I was terrified to venture out on a snowy day because that crazy car slid all over the road when it snowed. But now ... now I'm not afraid ... now I'm not afraid to drive in the snow because I have a car that was built to plow through the white stuff and get me where I need to go so that I can do what I need to do.

In a little over a week, I'm getting on an airplane ... and yes, for those of you keeping score, I'm getting more and more freaked out about getting on said airplane with each passing day. The poor folks in my office are now hearing me say the following words several times each day ... "In a week and a half, I'm getting on a plane ... a plane that goes way high in the sky ... by myself ... on a plane ... in the sky ... really high ... by myself ... on a plane really high in the sky. There's a baby at the end of the plane ... there's a baby at the end ... I'm getting on a plane that goes way high in the sky." Bless their sweet hearts for putting up with me ... though I do think I'm providing them with some serious comic relief during a very busy time around the office. And today when I asked some of them if they felt sorry for the people who are going to have to sit next to me on the various flights, they totally cracked up. But ... but ... but ... I know that I'll go through getting on an airplane because I want to ... no, that's not right ... I'll go through flying on a plane way high in the sky because I need to do something super, super, super important when that plane lands ... I need to spend some quality time with my precious granddaughter.

It's no secret that the last couple of years have been rather tumultuous for me ... now there's an understatement if ever there was one, eh? But the last couple of years have been something else, too ... they've been the most real years of my life thus far. In a weird way, I think maybe the last couple of years have been a culmination of sorts of all the other years of my life. That may sound a bit crazy, but we all know that I'm more than a bit crazy, so it makes perfect sense that I would think something like that. I think a lot of us tend to look back on the difficult times in our lives and see them as unfair or meaningless or cruel when in reality, those times could well be preparing us for a task we are meant to accomplish farther along on our journey of life. A good friend said something to me yesterday that gave me a whole new perspective about some of the tough life stuff I've experienced over the years ... a whole new understanding about the journey that has brought me to this day, to this time, to this place. She said, "Did you ever think that you wouldn't be able to do what you're doing if you hadn't gone through what you have? That you wouldn't be able to help the people you're helping if you had grown up differently or believed differently? Maybe you had to go through it to do it ... what you have gone through is why you can do what you're doing now. You had to go through it to do it." Those words are profound ... truly, truly profound. 

Sometimes you have to drive through the snow to get where you need to go to do what you need to do. Sometimes you have to go through flying on an airplane to spend time with people you love. And sometimes ... sometimes you have to go through some hard stuff in life so that you can help others who need to know that it really does get better. Sometimes you have to go through it to do it, friends ... sometimes you have to go through it to do it.