2024: week 3.

monday, january 15.

It started snowing around 6pm on Sunday and didn’t stop until about that same time on Monday. On average, Nashville got 7.6 inches. To put that in perspective, we typically average 4.6 inches for the entire winter. So. It was an event.

For anyone paying attention from last week, I was babysitting overnight on Sunday night. Which means I drove home on this day. It turns out, I do remember how to drive in the snow. But I definitely only made it up the hills by the grace of God.

This photo of my roommate Jess is to document the phone call with Xfinity customer service that turned out to be more of a divine appointment.

First of all, I don’t know if you’ve tried calling Xfinity recently, but it was basically a miracle that we even got to talk to a real-life person. The recording was ruthless, and kind of sassy, and it would not connect her to a person until she unplugged the router, plugged it back in, and waited a full ten minutes. Even though she had already done that.

I mostly just sat next to her for moral support because trying to have a conversation with a robot is exhausting, and she was doing a great job repeating “speak to an agent” 147 times. But it was pretty incredible to witness the conversation that unfolded.

She was finally connected to this guy named Jorge, who let us know that our blinking orange light is basically the worst of them all and while he was going to try, he wanted to let us know up front that it was unlikely he could help us.

Jess, as she does, so casually said that she doesn’t know if he believes in Jesus but we were believing for a miracle. And he responded by letting us know that Jesus was a complicated subject for him, especially as of late.

As the call went on, Jorge kept bringing up Jesus, quoting scripture, and asking hard-hitting questions. And after 40 minutes of talking more about Jesus than our router (which Jorge was unable to fix), Jess ended the call by praying for him over the phone.

I can’t tell you how that call impacted Jorge, but I do know how tangible the presence of God was. Like He was looking for a way to reach Jorge and pour out His love on him. And He got it – through a girl who boldly believes God cares about the things we care about, including Internet routers and the wifi connection that lets us work remotely.

tuesday, january 16.

The sky!

Also, there are no shovels or plows in Nashville. (At least not for side streets.) We simply wait for it to get above freezing when everything melts – and just drive around with it like that until it does. Which was a real treat this week as it did not get above freezing the entire week.

Jess and I and our backpacks went up the street to work from a coffee shop that recently opened within walking distance (!!) that Jess has spent years praying into existence.

Because Jesus 100% cares about what we care about.

wednesday, january 17.

Another day, another coffee shop.

My hotspot was working just fine at home, but there is something about snow that (after the initial cozy snowfall) makes me feel like I need to get out.

The main roads were pretty okay. And because the snow was fluffy (not icy – as it typically is), it was easier to drive on. So I did.

That night, after the Xfinity guy came and fixed our wifi (praise the Lord), Jess and I walked to the taco place (that also recently opened) at the end of our street for dinner.

thursday, january 18.

At sunrise on Thursday, there was a strip of pink in the sky, which you can only see here if you squint and zoom. But it was there, and when I looked up and saw it, I gasped. All week, the sun rose and the sky went from dark to light – from black to navy to sky blue. Which is still beautiful, but you know I’m here for a colorful sunrise.

It was probably the highlight of my day, to be honest. The rest of Thursday had that, “Why is it not Friday?” vibe. I felt like I’d lived an entire month already this week, and it’s only Thursday?

The afternoon brought freezing rain with it, and the forecast wasn’t showing above-freezing temps until Sunday. SUNDAY.

So, there were a lot of feelings. And Thursday was the day I realized it.

friday, january 19.

I took no photos this day. Probably because it had been five days since we’d had above-freezing temps and I woke up to snow flurries, which were not in the forecast, and I spent most of the day giving myself little pep talks about how Nashville won’t be frozen forever.

And like, at least it was actually Friday.

saturday, january 20.

My roommates and I are all “word of the year” people, and I felt like it was high time we changed up our letterboard from the Christmas message we still had on there.

I took a walk on this brisk 15-degree day. It was mostly me looking down and watching every step to make sure I wasn’t stepping/slipping on ice, but I wanted to get out. Since the freezing rain, side streets had turned into sheets of ice, and plans kept getting cancelled because some people literally couldn’t get out of their neighborhoods.

When I snapped this photo, I thought, “I can’t believe it still looks like this.” Later, Jess would tell me that she’s never lived in a place where the snow stayed on the ground for this long. Obviously, being from Connecticut, I have. But I’ve been in Nashville for almost 12 years. And I think that’s just the thing. This whole week felt like, It’s not usually like this.

And yet.

sunday, january 21.

This book! Was finally delivered. Five days later. I’m a big fan of JMC and the way he teaches about following Jesus.

P.S. Please note that my nails have gone back to their regularly scheduled programming. What a weird week to have picked a red nail color.