Nope...truly

I think best when driving....letting the road take me where it will, music playing loud and clear...singing along as my mind wanders; adding up events, statements, words, actions, pictures...well perhaps you see where I'm going with this. The thoughts burble along like a quick running streams, playing over small, medium, large and gargantuas rocks..trickling this way and that but always leading back to the current theme of thought and need.

As this babbling brook made its merry way along neural pathways I spied a man on a beautiful big beast of a bike and the man tall, dark and handsome...it reminded me somewhat of a past person, well mostly. Tall, Dark and Handsome translated to short, dark and OOC....out of control. I speak truth today in perhaps a more sarcastic tone...my heart has been making its way back to peace and it was a good day...a hard working day that always leaves me feeling proud, strong and capable. The views once again trump anything I could have been doing differently and I do not regret one moment since I started, rather joyous joy...perfect peace...and happy health....

This morning as I read over the little blurb from the night before I reflect on the day behind and the day ahead....I was gifted with an extra portion of grace yesterday...joy poured out on all who crossed my path; the 3 beautiful little old ladies in Timmies giggling at the corner table, my boss and one remaining crew member...the gas station manager who always goes out of his way to make our visit quick and painless...and all of this before we left town for a far-off destination in the bush.

Taking a break for lunch and sitting on a homemade bench on a fabulous beach...the quiet surroundings leeching out stress and worry....The view at this particular site reminded me of the coast...waters surrounded by mountains wreathed in mist melting off as the heat of the day rose. The knowledge that I gain strength, I gain skill, I gain confidence as I continue on this path. Life giving....oh the promise dear hearts...this is our promise fulfilling itself in technicolour.

Driving away after a hot, sweaty day, pulling a long flat-bed trailer I heard the unmistakable sound of grinding and groaning and pulled to a stop no more than 200 yards from the site.

Taking a look with my companion it was revealed that the leaf springs had broken on one side of the trailer...the metal of the trailer resting on the tire.

Ah friends, it rested in my mind and heart that it so closely mirrors life...something breaks and we pull to the side of the road, the mountain path and take a moment to breathe through the pain. Not everything can be fixed or repaired, rather must be replaced...the new brought in to give life to the old.

Stepping back and surveying the damage I dropped the trailer and proceeded on... lighter, freer...no longer concerned about speed over potholes and washboard so bad it rattles the fillings in your teeth...Making the call to have the trailer picked up and fixed at the local P&H...leaving the problem to the experts....

Dear treasures...we walk this path we call life and drop the things that weigh us down where they belong...in the hands of a Father who knows all, sees all...knows the heart right down to the last beat, knows the mind down to the last thought. The expert in this case...

It is not failure to know when to release that which holds us back from a life of joy, a life of peace, a life of love and compassion.

No matter how carefully I drove...no matter how gently I hit those holes and bumps in the road...the result was the same. The break was meant for good....better the blow-out at 15 km/hr than on the better maintained Bobtail Forest Service road at 90km/hr.

Oh how God watches over us....in every way. He makes a way...waymaker, miracle worker, light in the darkness. Those three phrases were once a litany, a mantra for me as fear rode heavy on my shoulders, tightening every muscle in my body...when I knew not what to pray...when hope was gone, when sanity was making a slow slide into the blackness never to return....uttering these words would hold me firm in the midst of chaos, in the midst of danger and threat of life and limb.

I pray you hear my heart this morning...that you see as from a distance, the way God shapes and molds and holds us steady no matter where we may stand, or lay, or fall.

My hope for you is this...that the scales will fall from your eyes and you will see your way clear...that your heart and mind will mend and grow in strength and courage for a life of peace and joy. A good life....a life meant for you...loved, cherished and accepted.

Go today and each day forward with the knowledge that you are destined for greater, for better... Queens, Kings, Warriors all. Stand tall and walk proud dear friends, God's got your back, your front, your very being resting safely within His mighty Hands.