Thomas PAINE
said, "These are the times that test men's souls."
Thomas
WILLIAMS says, “These are the times that rest
men’s souls.”
Nearly
every day since early October two thousand twelve until today’s March first two
thousand thirteen has been a day of rest for my soul. I’ve been filling my senses with the beauty
of God’s amazing earth and ever changing sky.
Even the nine hundred (plus) miles of travel, towing a thirty-one foot
fifth-wheel were refreshment for my tired spirit.
Please
understand that I am not saying, “Everything has been Marshmallow clouds and
candied rainbows.” We’ve had troubles
with a Texas
size T. (I am not going to
enumerate.) However even the challenges
that we’ve faced were new and exciting!
They stretched our creativity and gave us assurance that God will bring
us to where we need to be; even if He has to drag us through a few bramble
bushes to do it. I believe that no
matter how hard His road is to follow sometimes, it is still a HI-way compared
to those dark paths we might have chosen.
We
have been able in these past few months to spend time with family that have
been hard to connect with over the last decade or so. And we have met new people who have been
blessings to us. I hope that we will be
able to stay in touch with them in the coming years. However, even if we loose contact in the
future, being with them in the present has shown us more of the diversity of
God’s love for His children.
We
still have nearly two full months before we return to more familiar
surroundings and we will continue to store up experiences and pack them into
those special mental file boxes where the best of life are stored. Soon (but not too soon) we will be back in
harness and pulling our loads. However,
every now and then we will break open one of these new memories and savor their
sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feel; and we will smile for no apparent
reason.