Routes & Journeys

This is the view I have from the back of our tandem.  Not too shabby, eh?

This man and I have been on a journey together since 1991.  At times the route has been plain to see: work, caring for little children, home responsibilities and time with family and friends.

I would call those parts of the journey the flats; few bumps and fairly flat terrain.

This year has been a different terrain, however.  Our journey has taken us into uncharted territory; no map, no direction, no labeled route. Just trust and keep pedaling toward the next turn as the Light reveals it.

This part of the journey has involved leaving. And letting go. And good byes.

And all of that is hard. I have spent too much time looking at the journey from this perspective.

 

We pedaled into the unknown toward an unknown future.

But I trusted the One to Whom there are NO UNKNOWNS.

And He is faithful.

We moved out of our house and into suitcases and boxes.  And after 96 days of nomadic life, in 7 days we will land in a downsized space in a new place because of this

 

The real Captain of the tandem is taking us on a new route.  It has taken us far from family & friends; from familiar places.

We’ve begun the hunt for a new church, new cycling paths, and new experiences while making effort to maintain our established friendships.

Hard but good.

As I was reading today in the new Proverbs 31 OBS book A Confident Heart, this verse jumped off the page:

“Do not call to mind the former things or ponder the things of the past.  Behold I will do something new, now it will spring forth, will you not be aware of it?  I will even make a road way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”

He has made a new road way.  A new route.

I am known.  I am seen.  I am loved & cared for beyond what I can imagine.

You are too.  Do you realize it?  I forget sometimes. Do you?

I know I too often take my eyes off the One Who is doing these new things and instead I look at the ‘if only’ or ‘I wish’ and I lose sight of the Way He is leading and I get off His route and into the weeds.  And get a flat tire. Or stuck. I need help.

Psalm 121 says “I will live up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”

The journeys of life can feel like they are taking us on routes away from what is known & familiar & safe & predictable.

But the only true journey is on the route which leads toward the Heart of God.  That route may not feel safe. (But He is good.)  It’s definitely NOT familiar or predictable.

But this journey is taking me right where I want to end up.  In His secure, loving embrace with a whispered “Well done…”