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It’s weather season everywhere. California is experiencing bomb cyclones dumping rain in unprecedented amounts (thank God). Alabama and the southeast are experiencing tornadoes, and back in September of 2022, we had hurricanes in parts of Florida and other coastal regions. No matter how the zealots try to spin it, none of this has anything to do with climate change; it is just nature’s way of showing us that there is a God and we are not Him.

Yes, God primarily identifies himself in masculine language—deal with it.

As my husband and I are exploring states where we’d like to retire, we are looking at those tornadoes in the Southeast, and they give us pause. We love the idea of living near the Atlantic, but then, you have the hurricanes on the eastern seaboard, and that also gives us pause. Frankly, I lean toward the tornadoes. They don’t warm the cockles of my heart, but if we have a basement, we’re willing to take the risk of those regions that experience them. Beyond the unexpected, not much different than earthquakes here in the west. Tornadoes just happen more often.

Snow. Well, for both me and my husband, that’s a non-starter. He was born and raised in California, so has no experiential knowledge surrounding it, including how to drive and navigate through it. I do, and absolutely hate every aspect. From the time that has to be taken to prepare to go anywhere, to the maintenance required to mitigate its effects. So, we know we are choosing places where snow is either minimal or non-existent. Which means we’ll never live in Idaho.

But many people have flocked to Idaho because of its beauty, its freedom, and its people, who are salt of the earth and upstanding. This week’s Feel-Good Friday is about one such person.

A young man named Chase answered the call of his sister and her young children, who wound up on a closed road, then ran off the road and became trapped in a snow bank. His sister said that Chase is always there for those in need and keeps a tow rope and winter gear in his car at all times so that he can help others. That level of preparedness is next-gen, for sure, and beyond the family ties, probably why she immediately called on him.

This past weekend coming home from a Christmas party in Utah my Google maps re-routed me around road construction. I ended up on a closed road and slid off the road and got stuck. I was stranded an hour from home with my two small children. I called Chase and he left straight from church not even stopping to change his clothes.

One of the many reasons why I hate these GPS apps and plan to get re-acquainted with paper maps when we do move to a new locale. Once you are off the beaten path, you can end up in the middle of nowhere, as this young woman discovered. Thank God for Chase and his persistence.

He tried to get to me from one end of the road but the snow was too deep and he had to turn around before he got stuck as well. To make matters worse his phone died and wouldn’t charge. He went back to town and bought a cheap track phone just so that he could still contact me and find me. He then stopped and bought a bag of burgers and water and headed the long way around to get to me (an additional 3 hour drive). The relief on my children’s faces when they saw their uncle finally pull up to rescue us is something I can never repay!

Chase’s response to being honored by his sister and East Idaho News reflects the humility of a true servant:

“I try to help when I’m needed,” Chase responded.

When I was going through a learning period about what responsibility meant in my life, I broke down the word to: RESPONSE + ABLE. Responsibility meant that if I was able to respond, I did just that. It’s like muscle memory: You build it until it becomes an automatic response. Not only that, but you craft your life to become a person who is equipped to respond, just like Chase equipped his car with the tools to help people in need. He was in a state of ready, and that’s what being responsible, and being a human being is about.

It has shaped my life, how I relate to those around me, and how I navigate within my sphere of influence, and especially my sphere of concern.

It sounds like Chase learned that lesson early on too, because he did all he could to respond to his sister and his nephews and/or nieces in order to ensure their safety and rescue, as well as their comfort. Thinking that the children especially were probably hungry on top of being frightened takes a tremendous amount of forethought. Chase is so worthy of this honor, and his sphere of influence has expanded because he has become an example for others beyond his small circle in East Idaho.