40 at 40

Hello Hatters,

I’m not a fan of driving in heavy rain.  In fact, I currently don’t live in a climate where we get much rain. I recently traveled a highway through some hard rain. It was the kind of rain that required the use of windshield wipers at their highest speed and sometimes that was not enough to see well.

As a few minutes turned into many, I was relieved when vehicles in front of me turned on their hazard lights.  I turned on mine for the people behind me.  Seeing those flashing lights helped me see ahead and we became a connected community of drivers: total strangers with a common goal of getting through the intense weather.

I prayed for safety. I prayed for calmness.  My last prayer during that storm was, “Lord, I don’t think I can take much more rain!”  Within a few miles, the downpour turned into sprinkles, and I was able to stop at a gas station for a break.  I was so grateful.  I know where the rain started and where the rain stopped. With the help of my phone, I found out it was 40 miles. My speed averaged 40 mph.  Thus my title: 40 at 40.

In my faith, walk, I know that the number 40 is a significant number in the Bible.  According to www.biblestudy.org, “The word "forty" appears 158 times in the King James translation. The number 40 generally symbolizes a period of testing, trial or probation.”  While the 40’s in the Bible are usually days, years, or generations, I could relate this heavy rain as a time of testing or trial.  You see, as a teenager, my family was flooded out three times due to hurricanes, so storms are triggers for me.

We all have situations that provoke a stress response, but the blessing of having a community of cars with flashing hazard lights helped me through the downpour.

As a writer who wears many hats just like you, sometimes we are the “supported” and sometimes we are the “supporter”.  I reflected upon that rainy time and was reminded of my familiar and supportive community of family and friends that help me on a regular basis. We travel through this life and help each other with hazard lights and slower speeds and lots of prayer. Some of these people I’ve known greater than 40 years and we’ve faced a lot of ‘weather’ together. My hope for you is that you have your own village for the good and the trials.

MT Penny