Curves in the road

The thing about driving through the mountains is, there are a lot of curvy roads. (In fact, that's how we learned on the trip that Brie gets carsick.)

I loved the wide open prairie lands, where the road stretched straight out forever in front of us, with no trees or hills to obstruct the view... I strained my eyes to see as far as I could, just because I could, and I took deep, deep breaths of air out there, like I could inhale the entire big blue sky that stretched from horizon to horizon. I felt free and easy and confident, knowing where I was going and what would be there when I arrived.

But then the hills grew taller and taller and the trees crowded thicker and thicker, and all I could see of the sky was right above me, and all I could see of the road and land was what came before a curve that was so close I could see it without my glasses on. And I love this scene in a different way... it has an element of adventure, not knowing what will happen next. It was thrilling to hug the edge of the mountain and wind higher and higher. It even felt a little dangerous, especially when we saw yellow diamond shaped signs warning about bison and deer and big-horned sheep and cowboys. It's those "joy in the journey" moments when you want to slow down for fear of what you might find but also want to speed up to discover what is around the corner.

Life is like that too... we come to curves in the road, and have no idea what the next day or next step might hold. And those curves have a tension of anxiety and anticipation, don't they? Who knows if changes are going to turn out to be good or bad, or how they will affect your relationships and decisions and the rest of your life? What a beautiful opportunity to work out our faith... to test how much we really trust God. He is good, faithful, and unchanging - He is the mountain we can depend on as we travel these winding roads.