Tag: travel

THE BUMPY ROAD

I recently discovered a beautiful magazine, Bella Grace. It is full of lovely images and inspiration for those of us who journal. In the current issue there is an article that inspired me: “33 Reasons Why the Bumpy Road is Always Better.” That title resonated with me because I took the bumpy road in life when I went to college at age 47.  That was some bumpy road! Things had changed a lot!  And the bumps got bigger when I went to graduate school.  There were days moments when I was looking for an on ramp to get back on the freeway. Maybe I should just drop out and go to lunch with my girlfriends! But I kept putting one foot in front of the other, and I got to the end of that particular bumpy road. I was the oldest graduate! So old that one of our local television stations sent out a news crew. “Old woman earns doctorate.”

Robert Frost describes our life choices beautifully in his narrative poem, “The Road Not Taken.” I have always seen myself in that poem. One thing I have learned over the years is that there are many different ways to live a life. Taking the bumpy road requires courage. I think of my granddaughter, Hannah who left behind everything familiar and moved to Colorado on her own because she wanted to live close to the mountains. She is flourishing! I always wanted to live close to the mountains too, but would never have had the courage to make a move like that in my twenties.

Using the article as a journaling prompt, I began a list in a small journal I am keeping.  Here are a few of my reasons; see if you can add some more.

Reasons Why the Bumpy Road is Always Better

  • It helps you find your true north and gets you to the place you were always meant to be.
  • The bumpy road is more interesting than the super highway.
  • Fast is not always better. There are lessons to be learned along the way, and learning takes time.
  • Even detours are a part of the plan.
  • You meet the most interesting people.
  • There are always hidden gifts to discover.
  • Bumpy roads develop trust muscles. I learned to trust God, others and myself.
  • Those bumps caused me to lean in closer to God and deepen my relationship with Him.
  • I learned I could do hard things and achieve my goals, even when they seem impossibly high.
  • Looking back, I can see that I created some of those bumps myself.  Choices have consequences. Once I figured out that God had a plan for me, and then got onboard with it, that bumpy road didn’t seem so impassable.
  • I hope I have carved out some hard-won ruts and left a trail for those coming behind me.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Plans Interrupted

Amanda and Jay have been on a weeklong vacation in California with their friends Chris and Kristi.  Jay and Chris are both firefighters and work together in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Chris is also a paramedic. Their plans to return home were interrupted by what meteorologists are calling an atmospheric river. In short, California is experiencing record-breaking rains, heavy snow in the mountains, and widespread floods. The drive to the airport Sunday was harrowing due to so much water on the roads. So they knew there was a good chance that their flight would get changed and that is indeed, what occurred. Instead of their original flight, they were re-routed with a layover that would not get them back to Tulsa until about 2:00 AM Monday morning. With full workdays on Monday, this change of plans was an inconvenience to be sure.

It was on the changed flight that an emergency occurred. Chris and Kristi were seated near the front of the plane while Amanda and Jay were further back on the emergency exit row. With their earbuds in and engrossed in their iPads, neither Amanda nor Jay noticed a commotion at the front of the plane. But Amanda happened to look up and saw Chris gesturing and calling for Jay. She pulled out Jay’s earbud, he looked up, and bolted into action.

A man across the aisle from Chris had passed out. Not knowing what was wrong, Jay and Chris got him out of his seat, laid him in the aisle, and prepared to begin chest compressions. It took a few minutes but they learned from a traveling companion that the unconscious man was diabetic, and this was a case of severe hypoglycemia. Jay and Chris were quickly able to get his blood sugar regulated and return him to his seat. 

As Amanda was telling me this story, I was thinking about how our changed plans can actually be God’s divine appointment for us. Some might say that the man was lucky, that there just happened to be two EMTs on his flight. I would say it was God-ordained. How often do I get irritated at interruptions and inconveniences, when God might be opening a chance to share Jesus. Lord, help me to see my interruptions differently, as your ordained opportunities.

It also occurred to me that as Christians, we are all certified EMTs. We received our authority in Matthew 28 and Mark 16, where Jesus tells us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to a dying world. As humans, we will all face death. Some of those around us are in danger of entering eternity without a relationship with Jesus. The Bible tells us that they will spend eternity in hell. Lord, open my eyes to those around me who need to know You.

Jay and Chris, you are heroes! 

The Red River Death March

This morning I was remembering an event that happened at least twenty years ago—maybe longer. We had taken a trip to Santa Fe and Red River, New Mexico.  That area is such a beautiful part of the southwestern United States and an easy drive from Oklahoma.  We have been there several times, and enjoy the beautiful scenery every time we go.  The memory that popped up this morning is what we now fondly refer to as “The Red River Death March.”  Did that pique your interest?

So I had this bright idea that Jerry and I would take a day hike.  To say that he wasn’t interested would be an understatement, but he reluctantly agreed.  We got a map of the various trails in the area and picked out one that we thought would be doable.  Now I need to preface this story by telling you we had absolutely NO experience in hiking.  But how hard could it be?  So we set off in our sneakers with one plastic water bottle each.  Unprepared.

We walked for a bit, maybe about forty-five minutes or so, on a fairly even trail.  “This isn’t too hard,” I thought.  “I wonder how far we have to go.”  Eventually we saw a large open area…it was a parking lot!  Well that was strange.  What was a parking lot doing on the trail?  Then we saw it.  A sign.  “Trail Head.”  What the…?!  You mean we haven’t even gotten on the trail yet??  And we could have driven our car to this point?  Jerry was already suggesting we call it good, but oh no.  By golly, I wanted to hike this trail.

So off we went, already a little tired.  The trail began to ascend as we walked up the mountain.  Now I am pretty sure this was designated an “easy” hike, maybe “moderate” at most.  But a long hike for me was once around the mall.  Again…unprepared.  Up we went, the altitude getting higher, the air getting thinner, huffing and puffing and one of us grumbling.  By now Jerry is NOT a happy camper!  At one point he even threated to turn around and leave me, but that was something he would never do, so we kept climbing higher.  

Finally we were rewarded.  We reached the end of the trail and there was a beautiful lake surrounded by pine trees. The view was worth the sore muscles, although I’m not sure Jerry was enjoying is as much as I was.  I would have loved to have sat on a rock for about an hour just to enjoy the beauty, but by now we were about 2 ½ hours in and the weather was beginning to change.  A light misty rain had changed into ice and or course we had no jackets.  We needed to get back down the mountain before dark.     

Well we discovered that going down uses an entirely different set of muscles than going up.  Oh yay!  More places to be sore.  And the trail was getting slippery.  At one point I went skidding down on my rear!  At least I was making good time.  Did I mention Jerry was not happy?  Finally we reached our car, exhausted, sunburned, wet, and tired.  But we had bragging rights!  We survived The Red River Death March!  And now we can laugh about it.

As I was remembering our hike this morning, I thought about our walk through this life.  There are times when it is easy and we can just enjoy the journey.  But there are other times that may be steep, slippery, and uncharted.  We had better be well prepared for our life walk.  I can’t even imagine doing it without God.  My preparations include staying in the Word, being prayed up, and hiking along with a group of other Believers.  At my age I can look back and see all the trails God and I have walked.  But there is still an unknown trail ahead, and time is getting shorter.  Night is coming.  The one thing I know for sure is that I don’t have to walk alone and I can trust Him.  My verse for this year is Psalm 77:19.  I just keep putting one foot in front of the other as God reveals the path.

Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters— a pathway no one knew was there!