The Road We Travel

There are days when it seems the road we have to travel in life is long with no end in sight. The storm clouds hanging over us make our life seem grey and dreary, full of misery. We feel weighed down, heavy, with no energy to even take care of ourselves.

When we are down in that valley with those tall mountains surrounding us, sometimes it can feel like there is no way out. That all we are ever going to do is run into obstacles to keep us from being happy. The road seems long and lonely. Off in the distance we may see hope, yet the motivation to put one foot in front of the other to reach the oasis takes more than what we have inside of us at that moment.

When we were young we had our dreams and life seemed like it could never do us wrong. Nothing was impossible for us. The feeling of newness was riding with us and we felt the adventure of life was exciting. All of us experience curvy roads. Sometimes those curves can be sharp and painful when they are caused by others or situations we have no control over.

Sometimes we see a different road that we want to take and we jump to it, only to become lost or find a lot more potholes than the one we were originally on. We all make decisions we regret. There isn't a person who has walked this earth since Adam and Eve who has not had their regrets. We have the choice of letting those regrets break us down, or for us to go past them and continue on the road of life.

When a bend in our road lies in front of us,

we must remember that there is a guard rail to protect us. If we have asked Jesus into our hearts to be our Lord and Saviour, He is always there protecting us from falling off our road no matter what lies around the corner that we cannot see.

The long road doesn't seem so lonely anymore, nor do the mountains seem so desolate around us when we remember Who has us in the palm of His hand. Being in the valley can be a time of growth and renewal. Take the time to see the beauty around you, look for the positive. Even barren land has it's own form of beauty.

Lean on Jesus, spend time in prayer, sing songs of praise and worship in your heart when the road gets tough. As you do this, you will feel you are rising above the valley. As we climb up the mountain, what lies in the valley becomes more clear to us, our direction becomes more obvious, the road we traveled through the valley does not seem as bad as it appeared.

We all crave the comfort of home. Home is where God has put us for that moment. It is up to us to make that home inviting, loving, nuturing, peaceful - even when the road is rocky.

I am telling you this, but it is not because I need anything.

I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens.

I know how to live when I am poor.

And I know how to live when I have plenty.

I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens.

I have learned to be happy when I have enough to eat

and when I do not have enough to eat.

I have learned to be happy when I have all that I need

and when I do not have the things I need.

I can do all things through Christ because He gives me strength.

Philippians 4: 11-13

(The Everyday Bible translation)