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| The Road Block
From Llandovery I motored up the narrow road towards Rhandirmwyn. This was always my preferred route through mid-Wales to Aberystwyth, though I was a little uncertain about the ice and snow this December. After half an hour driving further over the high road past Llyn Brianne, twisting around and through the forests, the road was still alright (mainly small patches of ice where I had to go carefully) and then it crosses the infant Tywi at the top end of the lake and then over the hill and down to Capel Soar Mynydd, that most lonely mountain chapel. I resisted the temptation to stop at this wonderful place, for it was now getting dark and I needed to get to Aberystwyth that evening so I pushed on before the sun's absence froze the roads even more.
 It was here that I saw the sign ‘Road Ahead Closed’.
Many’s the time I have seen such signs which proved false, left over after road-works had been cleared. Unhelpfully, they hadn't told us any earlier back on the journey and I contemplated the alternative of going back to Llandovery and round the coast by Aberdaron - an extra 70 miles. I really needed to get to Aberystwyth on time so I took the risk and carried on up the road alongside the tiny Camddwr river and hoped for the best. I like challenges like that and though I could have been anxious about going off the road, breaking down with no mobile reception and no farms near and darkness all around - I consoled myself that the lonely red telephone box some miles ahead at the Camddwr/Abergwesyn T-junction was now operational [after vandalism] and I could walk there to summon help if needed.......all would be well.
Then the ice got worse and thicker; no gritter ever goes here at all, so things got worse and worse and I was down to 5 miles an hour edging my way over crunchy ice/snow in the falling darkness and turning down steep inclines. Four miles later I came to the blockage.
On this lonely road in the middle of nowhere they were totally reconstructing a 300 yd section; it was a huge mess. I edged forward to the beginning of the works and found I could bump my way along for 20 yards. Then I turned a bend and saw the trucks. They were parked nicely out of the way between the road and the river and I reckoned I was in luck - until I saw the digger. It had a huge long arm and was the final absolute blockage to my journeying; my heart sank.
Then in the twilight I noticed that it was not actually in the road, it was parked by the road. Good I thought, but then I discerned its long digger arm. Now that could have been resting on the road as diggers do at night-time and if it had been, then 70 extra miles would have been my only option. But the amazing thing was that although the digger arm was indeed stretched across the road, it was looped up in the middle forming an archway - offering me an escape route. So under the arm-arc I edged and bum ped my way eventually to the icy, but firm, area of tarmac which I could see just ahead.
And I got to Aberystwyth on time.
It was as if God has meant Road Closed to be a challenge; when I had the courage to accept the challenge, he confirmed his presence with me by the Rainbow arch of the digger arm across my pathway. That small incident on one journey seemed to resonate as a parable for my Life’s Journeying - and a confirmation, once again, of God’s great faithfulness…….. Paul Heppleston | |
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