The Worst Storm in Years (And Why I’m Grateful for It)

My iPhone started screaming at me.

Not literally… but close.

“Prepare NOW for the worst snow and ice storm in years!”

You know the type: emergency alerts, weather apps in full panic mode, neighbors texting like it’s the end of civilization. And to be fair, we took it seriously. We stocked up on food, filled containers with water, and piled up extra wood for the fireplace.

Then the storm arrived - and it delivered.

Not just snow. Not just ice. But an ice layer so smooth and thick that any professional ice skater would’ve been jealous. Our pond froze over like a movie scene. For two full weeks.

After the initial “wow” wore off, I had a new question:

What do you do with a pond that’s now basically an ice rink?

I decided to test it. I drilled holes in the ice with a 4-inch bit. I expected water pretty quickly.

Nope.

No water. Just more ice.

That’s when I thought: This might actually work.

So I did what any responsible adult would do: I went to the local sporting goods store and asked for ice skates.

The clerk looked at me like I had three eyes.

This is Kentucky. Ice skates are not exactly a hot commodity. This massive store - two stories tall, packed with gear for every sport imaginable - had zero skates.

So I did what modern humans do in a crisis: I ordered them on Amazon.

The next day, the skates arrived. And soon I was doing circles around the pond like I was auditioning for the Winter Olympics (minus the grace and talent). Even better: at night, it got a little surreal. The white snow and the solar lights around the edge of the pond gave off just enough glow for me to skate with only moderate stumbling.

For over ten days, I skated each night - and honestly, I felt refreshed.

And somewhere in the middle of that strange frozen joy, a thought hit me:

When God provides an ice storm, the best question is not, “Why me?”

The best question is, “What next step can I take in light of this situation?”

Businesses Call This a Pivot

A few years ago, I found a piece of land on a lake. It was beautiful except for one major problem:

The slope down to the water was steep.

Like… really steep.

So steep that you couldn’t realistically build a normal house on it. That’s why the land sat on the market for a long time. Everyone saw the slope as a dealbreaker.

But when I walked the property, I noticed something else: there were several large oak trees standing strong on that hillside.

And suddenly the slope didn’t look like a problem anymore.

It looked like an opportunity.

Instead of trying to force the land into a “normal” plan, I realized it was the perfect place for something different: a tree house.

That steep slope, which made the land undesirable, became exactly what made it valuable for the right kind of imagination.

We bought the land at a good price, and eventually it led to tree house construction.

One neighbor stopped by during the process, smiled, and said:

“It just took the right person with the right imagination to do this.”

Church Planters Call This an Alternate Financial Model

Shadowland Community Church met in a school lunchroom. It was a faithful, growing community, but like many young churches, finances were always a little tight.

Then one of the biggest donors had to leave town for family reasons.

Suddenly, the church was in a “situation.”

Expenses were draining the reserves. Weekly giving couldn’t keep up. And the easy path would have been to quietly shut it down and call it a noble attempt.

But instead, we asked the better question:

“What next step can we take in light of this situation?”

And we pivoted.

We purchased a local coffee shop that wasn’t making a profit. The building expenses were more than the income. It wasn’t working as a business.

But it had potential.

So we turned it into an event space.

Now, the church uses the building on Sunday mornings and at other times during the week, and the space is rented out for birthday parties, wedding rehearsals, and local gatherings.

Last year, that resulted in an average of nine bookings per week, and the income covered 62% of the overall church budget.

Now both the church and the business are flourishing.

So… What’s Your Ice Storm?

Do you have an ice storm right now?

A steep piece of land? A financial shortfall? A church or business in the red?

Instead of asking, “Why me?” a more helpful question might be:

“What next step can I take in light of this situation?”

Mission almost always includes two feelings at the same time:

• fear or hesitation because you don’t know what’s next

• excitement because God might be doing something you don’t want to miss

So here’s the real question: What next step in faith is right in front of you?