I drove to Vernal this weekend. The sky was a deep blue with hardly a cloud to mar the rich hue. The sun did its best to shine at full capacity despite the January chill. It was a lovely day. At least for the first 80 or so miles. When I approached the top of the switchbacks the valley below was filled with fog. From that vantage point, the view truly was remarkable.
I mentally kicked myself for not leaving sooner. But I didn’t and so I didn’t have time to stop and take a picture.
As I drove down the switchbacks, I caught up with the fog. About 10 miles outside of Vernal I had to watch the lines on the road to make sure I didn’t drive off the road or into the other lane. The fog continued into Vernal. I could barely make out the buildings on the right or left and stayed focused on the road.
Hmmm, I thought. This is exactly what Satan does to us. If he can, he will cause a cloudy fog to encompass us. He does it until we forget to look for the markers on our road – like prayer or scripture study. When we can’t see where we are going it is so easy for us to become lost. To wander off the road.
More than that though, driving in the fog becomes very discouraging. As I have learned from my cave experience, I am a bit claustrophobic. I don’t like the feeling of being closed in and not being able to see. I get panicky.
Poor little Vernal, I thought. You have no idea the sun is shining all around you. You probably feel like the sun will never shine again. That train of thought is something the adversary whispers in our lives. “There is no sun,” he’ll lie, “there is no light,” he will nag, “there is no hope.”
I attended the temple and when I left two hours later, the sky was blue with no trace of fog left.
The thing to remember about fog is it doesn’t last. The sun continues to shine whether or not we can see it and will burn off the fog. That lesson can be applied to our lives. Foggy, cloudy, unclear, difficult, confusing days don’t last. Likewise, the Son is always there. He is our light shining through our cloudy days if we just hold on.
My message is this, if you feel like you are in a foggy day, remember fog doesn’t last. Your sky will become blue again before you know it. Continue to look for those steadfast markers so that you do not go off the road. Focus on the markers that will keep you on the road. The sun is still shining and your skies will be blue again before you know it. Look for those blue skies!
ck's days 
I don’t like the feeling of being closed in either, especially in thick fog. We have on rare occasions experienced extreme heavy rain in the UK, so heavy it was like a fog, and ooohhh, I could sense the weight of that water on the roof of the house – I felt quite closed in and panicky during that rainstorm, did not enjoy that at all, I was praying for it to stop. And when it did stop, and I could see outside the window again, the road was in a flood, water right up to the door! 😦
It’s funny how something relatively harmless can make us panic, but I think it’s because we see the potential for danger, and that makes us fear. But nothing does last forever does it? That’s a great relief. 🙂
That settles it. I would not do well there. I have learned in the past couple of years that I need to see. If I can’t see I panic. I’m hoping I never need an MRI done because – I’m already panicking about that!