Traveling

I had a sudden urge to visit my son and his wife in Indiana. My daughter and I threw things in suitcases, loaded up the car, and off I went.

I wanted to go north and east to get from Colorado to Indiana. North meant going through Denver, and honestly, that is not fun. So I picked a highway going east and sped merrily through lovely green fields of the CO plains. After a while, I found an interesting road that went north and made the turn. It angled off nicely to go northeast.

Now lest you think I am a total dingbat, I do have a GPS on my blackberry, so I wasn't totally without direction. But this trip is not about destination or best roads or best time. This is a trip of relaxation and appreciation.

I saw a pheasant run across the road in Kansas. I don't think I've ever seen a live pheasant before.
I saw horses running in a pasture.

I saw a barn well on its way to collapse and a bright shiny new red barn.

I met interesting and lovely people everywhere I stopped. I had to stop often to accomodate the aches and pains of being an old lady. I handed out bookmarks whenever I could and learned that across America there really are people who still read books .

I made one wrong turn in Missouri and ended up going south. I soon realized the afternoon sun was on my right arm and should be on my left. I made a u-turn and some miles later spotted a highway patrol man parked ahead. I parked in front of him and got some advice on how to get to a road going east. Another nice person conveniently sitting right where I needed him.

Long ago, when I was teaching Math in junior high. (It was an accident. I don't usually do well with math.), I had a student who would get very uptight if his steps in solving a geometry problem or an algebra problem did not mirror exactly what was in the answer key. I remember telling him that he used the same steps but in a slightly different order. I couldn't get through to him until I mentioned driving to the small town fifteen miles down the highway from our small town.

To drive to Del Norte, you could go on the highway, the back road, or the roundabout way that took you 30 miles out of theway. Each drive would get you to Del Norte. It got to be an expression we used. "There's more than one way to get to Del Norte."

In many of life's situations there is more than one way to reach your destination. If you want to be a doctor, there are varied plans for achieving your goal. If you want to play the piano, there is more than one way to acquire the expertise. (Sorry, all of them involve hours of practice.)

God sets a desire in your heart, but He doesn't dictate the road you must take. He reveals plans and allows you to choose your route. He is such a good Father that He makes room for varied experiences, knowing that we will learn more, enjoy more, value more the journey we follow if allowed to make choices. Yes, we may may go south by accident, but He will give signs that we are on the wrong track and provide counsel to get back in line with our goal.

He is great. He is the one who created more than one way to get to Del Norte.

Have a happy journey on this road called life.