I'm married to a police office, even still, when I see an officer behind me, I get all nervous. Suddenly I'm trying to recall everything I learned in driving school. How many feet from an intersection do I need to turn on my blinker? Who has the right of way? Grab the wheel at 12 and 2, or is it 9 and 3? And even though I don't have a lead foot, I do occasional drift above the speed limit, so when I see that patrol car behind me, my eyes immediately check my speed. I've had several of such moments on the road today as we made our way from Litchfield Park to King City, CA where we've stopped for the night.
As I was driving I remembered reading Ann's blog regarding this line from Psalm 23:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life... (vs. 6 ESV)
She talked about the word for follow: radaph. It means to pursue or chase or run after.
I smiled as I drove. God is chasing me with his goodness and mercy. He is following me, not to punish me for my sins (Christ took all my punishment), but to show me his goodness and give me his mercy. I'm being pursued by God's mercy and goodness! Just think about that.
I thoroughly enjoy a road trip. For me, it's not about getting there fast. It's about the memories and the experiencing new places and changes of scenery.
This is our 4th year going west for the summer. This year might be the last two week trip to Nor Cal and Oregon we get for a couple years. Since I'll be starting a part time position at a hospital 2 days a week, I won't have two months of summer free. So I'm especially treasuring this year's trip with the boys.
They did really well considering they were stuck in a small car for about 11 hours today. Connor especially has very long legs and not much room to stretch back there.
While we were driving we listened to 15 chapters of the Last Battle by C. S. Lewis. I had not read that book in the Narnia series. So many great analogies in Narnia... the dwarfs hardened their hearts to the notion of there being an Aslan at all. They'd been told lies by the ape and had been tricked into slavery by the Calormen. When face to face with the truth about Aslan they chose to not choose. They would be independent, they thought.
Tomorrow we head to the Monterey Aquarium. I'm sure it will be a great time. We went to cannery row last year, but didn't have time to go to the aquarium. We'll spend the first half the day there and then head north. At least that's the plan. Whatever happens tomorrow, I'll be looking over my shoulder for His goodness and mercy and slow down long enough to give thanks for it! And I'll be missing the sweetness of the gathering of believers at Pathway.
Quieted,
Sheila
