Chapter Four
A Path Well Lit.
Seven am was too early to wake up when one didn’t need to! Anxiety rushed through me, or was it excitement? I don’t know but, I started rushing out the door and then remembered someone telling me at my birthday breakfast to ‘linger’. “When tempted, do not rush, live in the moment”, my friend had said. Instantly, I calmed down and decided to read the book I had brought with me. I checked out of my room at 11 am and headed out.
Lingering felt nice, but so did being on the Healing Trail (the I40) again. A few times I noticed how the sun would peek through and shine a spotlight on the road ahead. It reminded me of the book that Bonnie had given me just a few days before. “Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On”.
Peace propelled me forward.
Satisfied and cruising along, another road sign appeared. “Petrified Forest next exit”. The words struck me. Petrified. Boy, can I relate to that word. Knowing I still needed to stay on my ‘trail’, I decided to go in and just get some information. I only spent a few minutes there but, knew it was something I needed to do on the way back.
I learned that the Petrified National Park is a 28-mile drive amongst trees that have lived without oxygen and look like rocks.
Driving all day, the miles added up. Nightfall hit, along with a lightning storm. It was not a small one either. The land was very flat and I was surrounded by lightning. Several small storms were off in the distance, but the one right in front of me had me gripping the steering wheel tight. The visibility was terrible and the only way I could see is when the lightning struck and lit up the road for a moment. I was afraid to pull off to the side of the road for fear that another car wouldn’t see me there… and the last sign I remembered seeing said there were no exits coming up for 55 miles. It seemed excessive but, it was best to just continue on.
Needing music to keep me focused, I reached into my center console and grabbed the first CD I touched. It was Steven Cade, a local artist that had recently visited our church. At that moment, I was especially grateful for buying his CD. He was singing Psalm 27 in a very dramatic way.
The tone of the song, the lyrics, the beat of the storm hitting my car, all synchronized my spirit into a peaceful state once again. I don’t think I’ve ever played a song over and over as much I did that night. I realized that sometimes our paths are lit in ways that aren’t as beautiful as before, but lit up nonetheless.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
