Thanks

Thank You, Lord, for the rough country; for the times when my path is a struggle. Thank You for the blisters, bruised heel, and scrapes from my falls. Thank You for the travelers, of all kinds, around me. Thank You for enough food and water to live, but not so much that I forget to be glad of it.

Thank You for the still times, the easy walks after a hard climb, and the places that call me to rest, but never for long. I, like Frost, have miles to go before I sleep.

Thank You for letting me break, like shale dropping from a height. I thought it was me that would shatter, but I did not see the prison I had built around myself. Prison-breaking is painful, but until I was out, I never knew that Joy meant anything more than happiness. I did not know that Joy defies all circumstances and emotions. I did not know that it is transcendent. Strange, how You let us use the most simple words to describe things that we only begin to understand. Thank You for that as well, else how few words I would have!

Thank You for turning me out of myself, and for Your patience in doing so again and again, as I forget the lessons I have learned so many times. That is one reason for the rough of the road, perhaps. It makes me stumble, and reminds me where my eyes should be. You have more patience with me than I have with myself. Thank You.

Thank You, Yeshua, for the mysteries; the seeming-paradoxes that make us alive rather than existent. Thank you for Life. And most of all, thanks for Your presence on the road with me.