What I Found When the Snow Melted

I remember this Sevierville storm. I wonder if another one is coming.

I remember one winter here in Sevierville when it snowed so hard you could barely stand up.

Now, I'm not talking about one of those pretty little Smoky Mountain snows where everybody drives up to Gatlinburg, takes a picture, and posts it on Facebook. Lol.

I'm talking about snow coming sideways. Wind howling down out of Wears Valley like it was late for something. And a 300-pound man finding out that gravity is still very much in business.

Down I went.

And apparently, everything I owned decided to leave me at the same time.

My money. My lucky four-leaf clover. And my comb.

Yes, I had a comb.

I realize that's hard to believe looking at me today. My wife says keeping a comb in my pocket was more an act of faith than a necessity. Lol.

Anyway, there I was, face down in the snow, trying to figure out which end of me was supposed to get up first.

And here comes my wife.

All 140 pounds of her, fighting through that wind to rescue my 300-pound rear end.

She had told me not to go out there.

I'm not saying she was right.

I'm just saying she usually is. Lol.

Somehow, she got me up, brushed me off, and helped me back into the house.

I remember that winter for another reason, too.

It was around 2007 and 2008.

And if you were in real estate back then, you probably remember those years about as fondly as I remember that snowbank.

The market didn't just slow down. It fell flat on its face. And unlike me, it didn't have a 140-pound woman running out to pick it up.

Homes stopped selling. Property values fell. From Sevierville to Pigeon Forge, from Gatlinburg out to Wears Valley, it felt like all of Sevier County got snowed in at once.

People who had made fortunes in real estate suddenly found themselves wondering how they were going to make the next payment.

And let me tell you something. You find out real quick who really owns that property you've been making payments on.

The bank.

And the bank wasn't interested in waiting for spring. Lol.

I watched some of the finest properties in these mountains sell for pennies on the dollar.

It was heartbreaking.

My father used to tell me, "Son, all that glitters is not gold."

Well, Dad, you were right.

I lost everything.

Not a bad year. Not a few sales.

Everything.

It's a strange feeling when you've spent years building something, believing in it, working for it, and one day it's just gone.

You start questioning yourself. Your decisions. Your abilities. Sometimes even your future.

But you know what I didn't lose?

My wife.

That same little 140-pound woman who came through the snow for me was still standing beside me when life knocked me down a whole lot harder.

Only this time, there wasn't any snow to blame.

And getting back up wasn't nearly as easy.

But she never gave up on me.

Not once.

She believed in me when I was having a hard time believing in myself. She reminded me that losing what we owned didn't mean we had lost who we were.

And little by little, with a whole lot of prayer, some hard work, and God's grace, we found our way.

Now, here's the funny part.

When spring finally came and all that snow melted, I went back outside.

And wouldn't you know it?

There was my money.

My lucky four-leaf clover.

And that comb.

All lying right there where I'd lost them.

I picked them up, brushed them off, and everything was just fine.

Well, except the comb.

I didn't have much use for it anymore. Lol.

I've been selling real estate in these mountains for more than 30 years now. I've watched the market from Sevierville to Gatlinburg climb so high folks thought it would never come down. And I've watched it fall so hard folks thought it would never get back up.

So far, it always has.

And somewhere along the way, I learned that life works a whole lot like that snowstorm.

Sometimes it comes at you so fast you can't stand up.

Sometimes you lose things you thought you'd always have.

Sometimes you can't see two feet in front of you.

But the storm doesn't last forever.

The snow melts.

And sometimes, when it does, you find things you thought were gone for good.

Now, I didn't get back everything I lost in 2008. Some things were gone forever.

But I found something worth a whole lot more.

I found out what kind of woman I married.

I found out my worth wasn't measured by what I owned.

And I found out God hadn't forgotten about me, even when I couldn't see what He had planned.

Spring came. The dogwoods bloomed. Life went on.

And that little 140-pound woman?

She's still here.

Still picking me up from time to time.

And she still tells me not to go out in the snow.

These days, I listen. Lol.

God bless.

Will Cupp

Realty Executives Associates, (865) 983-0011

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

Psalm 30:5 (KJV)