The first part of the trip went flawlessly, and then I hit a 45 minute construction delay, which made me panic. (My car overheated during a construction delay on my Wisconsin vacation a couple of years ago, so I'm a little sensitive to that.) It took a while for me to calm back down. Seriously. I passed a Sonic without stopping for a treat. (Hope you were sitting down for that.)
I got into the last couple of hours of the trip and found myself in the middle of an ENORMOUS mountain. Quite a change in scenery from the flatlands of Indiana.
The road was so winding and curvy that I pulled the old 10 and 2 trick from driver's ed and focused ahead. And speaking of driver's ed...it was right about then that it occurred to me that I was really doing this! The girl who curbed the car the first time she drove it in driver's ed...the girl who refused to drive on interstates until 2 years ago...the girl who was PETRIFIED of cities...was driving through a crazy mountain. Alone.
Then I thought back to 2 years ago when I went to see Lynnette for my birthday...and it took every ounce of strength I had to put myself on a plane and stand up and walk back off when it landed. When I couldn't eat or sleep or care. I couldn't have driven that year. And two years later...I was driving by myself through the mountains for a new vacation.
And God whispered to my heart: This is brave. You are DOING bravery. You're doing it. Right now. You're in a mountain all by yourself with only a GPS to lead you along and you're DOING IT.
You. Are. Brave.
Of course I started crying. I cried because the song on the CD player blasted out Praise My Soul the King of Glory and that's exactly what I was doing as I thought about the healing He's worked in my heart. And then I cried because the song switched to America the Beautiful and there I was...smack in the middle of breathtaking scenery I'd ever laid eyes on before...and it was indeed beautiful. And I cried because I'm Bekah and that's what I do.
I remember once reading that Beth Moore had a little church moment in her car one day in the middle of downtown Houston. Hands up, praising, with traffic passing by and people staring. I felt a bit like that twisting through the mountains. Crying and giggling and catching my breath and embracing bravery and the smile of Abba...
I'm so glad I drove. That's a moment I never would have had in plane.
The moment I was brave.
4 comments:
Woohoo for bravery! Isn't it gorgeous down there? I drove through that area during Fall Break in college, and the leaves were so gorgeous...I almost missed a curve about a hundred times because I was gawking at the scenery. :)
oh goodness - I can't even IMAGINE it in the fall. Stunning!!!
I'm so proud of you. I remember that girl who wouldn't drive much of anywhere and look at you now. You've come so far and it sounds like you're having the time of your life doing it.
And yes, the mountains in the fall are gorgeous. They're equally gorgeous after a huge snowfall, but I don't recommend driving through them then...nope...no matter how brave you are, I can't recommend that one!
Ahhhh I miss you, friend!!!
I am growing up!! :) And yes - definitely having the time of my life in the process. Might as well enjoy it to the max, right??
I'd love to be the PASSENGER for the snowfall view. :) Passenger wrapped in bubble wrap. Because who are we kidding? I'm not THAT grown up.
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