I just finished writing twenty letters...one to each of my co-workers...sharing things I've loved about working with them, things I appreciate about them, and saying my goodbyes in writing.
So essentially I have no mascara left.
On my eyes. I have plenty left in trails down my cheeks.
I made the mistake of reading my letters out loud to Ryan, who fortunately does not wear mascara, or he'd be in the same boat with the traily cheeks!
Not until I sat to write the letters did I realize just how many vivid memories I have of doing life with these people for the last four years, and just how tender my heart is as I think about walking away from them. Even though I'm almost the youngest person at the station, I am such a little mother hen with my friends. I need to know they'll be loved and taken care of in my absence.
Today, I go to work with my letters in my bag, ready to distribute them. I go with my camera packed securely in my purse {well that's no different from any other day, to be truthful about it} so my friend Jeri can document my day, because this a big day.
It's my last BLT. And in fact....it's the last BLT. Last one ever. Lynne and I will take our places {with our Kleenex boxes} for the very last time together, open our mics, and laugh, talk, and no doubt cry profusely as we say our goodbyes as a team.
I am profoundly thankful that Ryan has the day off and will be sitting beside me, behind a mic of his own, sharing this last show with me. I wanted him there. Our journey as the Shaffers began in earnest in that building, behind those mics, and it seems only appropriate that he will be there for the last one.
And when the show ends, the mics are turned off, and my makeup is reapplied, we'll gather as a group for a party, which is one of my favorite things in life. I'm excited to celebrate with these people I love so much, and I'm excited Ryan and my parents get to be part of the celebration too.
If you're not busy and want to hear BLT live today, it will take place at 10 a.m. Eastern time, and you can stream it live here. Ryan is armed with funny stories to rescue Lynne and me if we start to melt down and are too incoherent to continue. {I kind of hope it happens once, because he gave me a preview of one of the stories last night, and it is HILARIOUS.}
This past Sunday, our pastor preached about Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac's life. He is doing a series on faith, out of the book of Genesis, and it just so happened he was ready for this part on Father's Day. He said he realized it was an awkward topic on a day that celebrates fatherhood, but he asked us to stick with him, and we did.
He talked about what it might have been like for Abraham that day, up on that mountain with the son who fulfilled every hope, dream and promise Abraham had. When God asked him to let go, and Abraham had to know that in being willing to do that, he would be walking away from the very one God said would be his legacy.
At the end of the service, Pastor Steve encouraged us to grab one of the little green tithe envelopes out of the pew and write on it the thing we held dear...the thing we knew God was asking us to release with open hands.
I grabbed the envelope and the pen out of my journal and wrote with no hesitation...my job.
It was easy. After all, I heard that call months ago and have been in the process of obeying for quite some time now.
Pastor Steve invited us to walk to the front of the church with our envelopes and place them on the altar as a symbol of our surrender.
I walked {with a spring in my step} to the front and plunked my envelope on the altar and made my way easily back to my seat, sure of my decision and thankful for the work God had done in my heart over the past several weeks.
And then he invited us to stand, stretch our arms forward toward that pile of surrendered "Isaacs" and pray a prayer of consecration over them.
My arm reached out, and Pastor Steve began to pray.
He said something to this effect: Lord, we offer to you the things that have brought us joy. The things we have devoted our lives to. The things that have been our identity. The things that have been our legacy. The way we've been able to serve You.
And that would be when not just one, but an entire army of tears ugly cried their way right out of my eyes. Ug.ly. Cry.
It hit me right then. I had easily {and genuinely!} given to the Lord what He had asked of me, but in Pastor Steve's words, I heard for the first time an exact description of what I was giving up.
I'm giving up a daily walk with my dear friends, who have walked with me, trained me, loved me, listened to me, and laughed with me for four years. I'm giving up the job I have embraced and saturated myself in...every moment of every day. I'm giving up the right to identify myself as a producer and radio personality. I'm giving up the platform I have to share...and as Pastor Steve went ON to say in his prayer, I'm accepting that in this surrender, by next week, people might forget all about me.
And that was some hard stuff to swallow.
Ryan put his arm around me and I rolled my eyes to let him know it was just an ugly cry and it would pass.
And later that day, when I prayed about my surrender, I prayed for God to help me remember that He's called me to more. The more seems smaller by a worldly measuring stick, but His more is always...well...just that. More.
So while I allow myself the grief of this end, I continue to celebrate the new beginnings and this unknown more in front of me.
In 2012, I ran a 10K. Let my friend Jeri talk me into it, which was a questionable decision at best when it began, but it turned out to be a very good thing.
{I say that because Ryan became my trainer and then we sorta fell in love. Yeah, yeah, I'm that girl.}
When people find out you're running a race, they have all sorts of advice for you. And I was fine with that because I knew whatever is below absolutely NOTHING about running.
Those who had run races before told me things like, "Don't worry...running a race fills you with adrenaline. You'll get around all those runners and it will just push you to do a great job. And there are cheerleaders on the sidelines that will cheer you on...and when you get to the end, you'll feel a burst of energy and just power through."
Clearly these people had never actually met me. I presume the fear of being trampled by the masses in the gates behind me was what some people called "filled with adrenaline." I presumed the pleas to the Lord to not pass out in front of everyone lined up on the sidewalk clapping qualified as being empowered by the cheerleaders. And as for the burst of energy at the end? I'm not even sure knowing a cookie awaited me on the other side of the finish line could have been mistaken as a burst of energy.
The BIG thing they all failed to mention was the amount of HILLS in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It may look flat when you're driving a car, but inside of a race, I was certain that city had turned into the Smoky Mountains. By the time I got through the city, rounded the last corner and began to run around the baseball field toward the finish line...I didn't care about anything except surviving. My time...didn't matter. Impressing anyone with my form...I can't even finish that with a straight face.
And in some ways, finishing this last week of work feels a bit like that 10K would have felt for a real runner. I'm gasping for air {quite literally at times} as my heart and mind feels the stress of doing my very best to train PeggySue to take over my job.
I care. I care that she is able to learn all I can teach. I care that the transition goes as seamlessly as possible. I care that she's able to serve Lynne well and that Lynne's own job isn't slowed down any more than it has to be.
I wrote in my journal the other night that perhaps the reason some people don't finish well in whatever the task, is that they are just too exhausted. They get tired, and they quit. They lose sight of any sort of goals and only care about surviving the thing.
While I may have done that with the race, I don't want to do that with my job. I want to push through to the end with my eyes trained straight ahead {even if it's on a cookie!!}. I ache to finish well.
It's taking a toll on me. My body and mind scream for rest, and I know I just can't. Not just yet. If you're a praying person and can spare some time this week, I would humbly ask for your prayers as I finish this race that means so much to me. I want to do well. I want to make Lynne proud. I want to honor the Lord with my work.
Thanks, friends. You've listened to this transition for weeks, and I'm sure you're getting weary too. I appreciate you so much. Thanks for helping me through the last part.
What a weekend!! We worked hard, but we had a lot of fun, too! Ryan's mom and Allen host a big family get together every Father's Day. Ryan's mom's side of the family shows up, Allen's side of the family shows up, and now that I'm in the mix, I bring my parents along for the ride. :)
I have to say, while I love my little family, being part of Ryan's big {not fat, not Greek} family is quite fun. {I think my parents like being part of it too, because it's just so different from what we're used to! Hope it's okay if I share some of our pictures with you!
Ryan's little niece LOVES to play with my old camera. I carry it with me in case my regular camera has issues, and she believes I bring it because it's just for her. Her favorite thing is for me to take pictures of her taking pictures of me...
Look who I found out at the grill!!
Ryan's Aunt Ruthie {or as I call her, Aunt Ruthie Woo Hoo}. She's a treasure!
Ryan and Mr. Cheesy Smile.
This is how two toddlers decorate....
My sister came to have lunch with my parents at their house, and she stopped by the party on her way home. :)
Gotta water the flowers!!
My parents arrived after they had lunch with my sister, and I thought we coordinated pretty well. :)
Here's the official picture with Dad...
And here's how we usually look. This picture begs for a caption, doesn't it?
This is what happens when you tell kids to sit still and smile.
Ryan and his Grandpa Cox. These two men...I'm thankful for both of them!
Proof we were really there together!
It was a great day with fabulous food and a whole lotta fun!
* It's rained for what feels like forever here...but when I see all the gorgeous raindrops on the flowers, it makes the rain showers worth it. That was so fun to see first thing on Sunday when we got up. After church, we met Ryan's dad and step-mom for an early Father's Day lunch, and then we came home and took a lonnnnnnnng nap. All of us. {Because Braeya has such a hard life.} I rested the rest of the day, drinking coffee and finishing Kara Tippetts' book {which Ryan promptly started}!
* Monday was our new producer's first day, and it was also one of our busiest show days. She certainly got a trial by fire learning the ropes sort of by crash course alongside me. She was a trooper though and took notes and paid close attention to all her lists. Lynne and I took her out to lunch {BBQ}...and then in the afternoon, I did more training! I was so thankful for God's protection on the commute home, as things got pretty harrowing on the interstate. Low key night at home for the Shaffers...we were pooped.
* Tuesday the producer training continued, but in the afternoon, she and Lynne had to head out for their official photo shoot, so I stayed behind at work to catch up on paperwork {so she wouldn't get bogged down} and decided to enjoy her beautiful flowers while I worked. It was the first day of sunshine in days, so after work, we headed to the gym and then out to run {Ryan} and walk {me}. It was too hot for this girl to do an earnest run. And guess what I did for the first time ever that night? Made homemade granola. Won't lie: delicious. More than I even expected.
* Wednesday we had a surprise party at work for our dear Doris, who had a milestone birthday this week. She's not easy to surprise, so it was fun to pull that off! After work, Ryan and I scooted down to Indianapolis to attend a funeral calling for my friend Julie's grandpa. I always hate it when that's the sort of thing that lets me see my friends, but it was really good to see her anyway. And since we were down that way...seemed only fitting to have dinner at Red Robin!! :) When we got home, I threw together the candy shop pizza for Ryan's work carry-in on Thursday and fell in bed and went to SLEEP!
* Thursday, Ryan went to a memorial service for one of his co-workers who passed away this week. They wrote their favorite memories of him on rocks and got to share about them during the service. {I loved that idea!!} I spent a whole day in training and was so brain-tired driving home that I forgot the ONE ASSIGNMENT I had for that day. Put gas in my car. Ryan always does that for me, but we ran low on time without realizing I was low on fuel. Whoopsie! That light scared the puddin' outta me, but I made it home without incident. Also that day...our big timer crock pot cracked in half. SADNESS!!
* Friday, our new producer was out for the day, so I spent the day recording videos of how to do tasks, so she can keep having access to training even after I'm gone. I looked like a Life Alert operator, but I had such fun making them! After work, we ordered pizza and hunkered down on Mo for the evening, and Ryan worked on helping me set up my new desk at home! {He had an old monitor from the pre-Bekah days that we found out we could hook up to my computer so I can have two screens like I've had for years at work!}
* Yesterday we got up super early so I could work on our house, which was a mess, and Ryan drove to his parents' house to help them get ready for their Father's Day party. He got to play with chain saws, so he was a happy boy. We went to the funeral of one of Ryan's great-aunts, and then we went back to his parents' to help some more. {With a frappe stop in between, of course.} We didn't get home until after 10 and we still had to do a bunch of cooking. This has been one exhausting week!!
I've linked to Kara Tippetts' blog often in the past few months. I learned of her as her battle with cancer nearly reached its conclusion and she made her way to Heaven. And in those short weeks, her blog posts and her resolve to live well and love big to her very last breath inspired me to want to read her book, The Hardest Peace. I ordered it a couple of weeks ago, and I read it in two days. {And through many tears.}
The book wasn't what I expected. It was even better. I anticipated reading the details of her cancer journey and how she made peace with the hardest thing of cancer. That's what I thought the title meant. But Kara's words were much less about cancer and much more about inviting Jesus into your hard. Whatever your hard might be. She showed us many hard parts of her life. Abused as a child, abusing substances as a teen, learning to love and trust a man unconditionally, learning to parent in a healthy way that hadn't been modeled for her, hurting from betrayal within a church, working to plant a church, almost losing their home, and then cancer. And through each of those hards...learning to live big and love well. And in a masterful way, she wove the details of her story seamlessly into an invitation for you to apply the principles to your story, whatever it may be.
Kara chose her words carefully and wrote as though each reader was a friend she only would have the chance to speak with for a few moments. She didn't know, as she wrote, if she would even live to hold the completed book in her hands. And that unknown made her write fiercely, with rawness and urgency for her readers to seek forgiveness, crave restoration, offer every ounce of love, and not stop entering the grace of Jesus.
I've never read a book like Kara's. A volume of wisdom, offered in grace, saturated in love, and conveying the truth that the hardest peace is a Divine Peace, and she found it...and fought to keep it. It's the book every young adult should read heading out into the real world. Forget the obligatory graduation volumes of "timeless wisdom." This book packs real life wisdom. It's the book every couple {dating, engaged or married} should read to learn the corners of love no pre-marital counseling book covers. It's the book every man and every woman from any age and any life station should read just to be richer in life.
Ryan's not a reader, but when I closed the book, I handed it to him and said, "I won't ask you to read many books in life, but please read this one." And he is. If I ever finish making my top 50 books people should read...this one goes on it. And by on it, I mean at the top.{Bonus: there are some conversation-starter questions at the end of each chapter. I skipped over them as I read, but when Ryan began, he asked if we could talk about them together. We are having the best time talking about the answers to our questions every night after he reads!}
I love a good DIY project. And I love burlap. So when the two collide {and the added bonus of EASY DIY...} it's just a good day. Love this table runner from Thistlewood Farms. Love it that it can be customized for any color scheme.
This weekend can be a tough one if you don't have a dad. Whether you never knew him, he left at some point, or he has died, it's hard to live in the "celebrate dad" saturated weekend when it not only doesn't apply to you, but it reminds you of a void in your life. This post by Bonnie Gray {who is insightful and understands this topic firsthand} has some really helpful information. It's also a great reminder for those of us who dostill have our dads...to remember to reach out in empathy to those who are having a rough time of it this weekend.
This article offered suggestions for cutting calories from your diet without forcing you to live without things you love. Some of it just shows you how many calories you can cut by opting for smaller servings {which can be surprising reading!!}, but it also offers suggestions for substitutions that save calories as well! Five.
Back when I was first mentally experimenting with the idea of the capsule wardrobe, you might remember that the first example I found online was a largely neutral wardrobe. My initial thought was to duplicate everything she had, principally speaking, by finding my own version of every piece in there. I saw her gray sweatshirt partway down the list and went on an internet hunt for something similar. I found this on the Lindsay Letters website. I interviewed Lindsay months ago after I found out she did all the lettering for Shauna Niequist's books. Lindsay was fun...kind of wanted her to move into my neighborhood so we could be friends...and one of my very favorite coffee mugs is one she sent me after the interview. It says "Present Over Perfect" - in her beautiful lettering. So you can only imagine my joy when I saw the sweatshirt. Whether or not I go neutral with a capsule wardrobe, I would love to buy this sweatshirt! {Start the shopping list now!}
Six.
This has been a hard week in the Shaffer house. So many of our friends are going through profound losses. We've been to the funeral home so many times this week that I think we're becoming my parents. So hard to watch our friends hurt. But I will tell you that as I've heard Ryan share stories after work each day, of how he has tried to walk with others in their own hurt, and reach out to help even when his own heart is sad...well, I'm just so proud of the man he is and so thankful that I get the privilege to do this life with him. This song = how I feel about Ryan.
To be perfectly honest with you, when I took the job as Mid-Morning producer four years ago, I really didn't entirely know what a producer did. I had been friends with Jamie, who did the job before me, and I knew a few things from her stories, but when people asked me...So...what does a producer do?...I had no idea.
It just so happened that right around that time, Oprah's network ran a series of specials that I don't even recall by name now, but they peeked behind the scenes at what made her show tick. It showed all the facets of what happened off-camera, so I sat down one Saturday and watched an entire marathon of this show.
Now.
I'm not entirely sure why I thought a day of Oprah behind the scenes would help me know the ropes of producing a Christian radio talk show, but it was the closest thing I had at the time, so I went for it. The first episode I watched chronicled the arrival of one of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood at that time. {I'm not trying to be all secretive and elusive by not giving you his name. I just don't remember who it was.} He was going to make this grand entrance, and the producer assigned to that show worked intently to get everything to work seamlessly.
By the way, when I say "grand entrance," I mean Oprah's show was on the road and they were taping outside and he was ziplining in or something crazy like that. And when the cameras rolled, something went wrong and he crashed into something and cut his eye open.
The last scene I remember was the show's producer having a meltdown, as she contemplated the weight of having a botched show AND botching one of Hollywood's golden boys.
{To be fair, the show was salvaged, although I do think they redid the beginning with a normal, walking entrance, and if memory serves me correctly, he wasn't as badly hurt as the amount of blood would first lead a person to believe.}
So that's what I went to WBCL believing a producer did: arrange ziplining grand entrances by guests who may need an EMT by the end of the show.
May I just tell you that while I did some wild and crazy things in these last four years, I have not yet had to deal with a bleeding guest.
But here have been some of my favorite moments of producer-dom. {Is that a word? Is now!!}
* One of my first events: a sticker stop in Lima, Ohio, where I washed car windows in the rain!
* My first concert: Laura Story and David Crowder...and I almost threw up on stage waiting to throw the fling rings. I was so nervous!
* My first major on-air blooper: when I really messed up the introduction to one of the first guests I ever interviewed.
* Co-hosting BLT with Ryan. We fell in love with doing radio together on this day. If God ever opened this door for us to work together like this...we'd be thrilled.
* Helping build a house: something I never anticipated being assigned while working in radio!
While not a comprehensive list of everything I've gotten to do under this job title, it is certainly a testament to the joy and goodness this job has been. So grateful.
You've all had the day when you {or your husband} {or child} {or all of the above} walks in the door and declares There's a party tomorrow and I have to bring something. Right!?!?
It never fails to happen on your busiest night, when you have no time to make something elaborate, but you also want to appear the super-wife/super-mom/super-friend who has a stunning dish at the ready, no matter what. Right?!?!!?
To be fair, I happened to marry a man known for his ability to cook and cook well. He's not above, beyond, beneath, or any other direction away from whipping up something delicious to take to his own work carry-in events. But he did happen to marry a girl who waited many years to have a husband stroll in the back door after work and declare There's a party tomorrow and I have to bring something...so I like to cook for him. Makes me feel wifey.
So last night, when he came home {and we were home for approximately .0002 seconds before heading out of town for a funeral visitation}, he told me there was a carry-in at work, and he needed to take something. We didn't get home until after ten, so I knew it had to be something quick and easy...and candy shop pizza came out the winner.
I got this recipe from my mom years ago, when I was a cooking novice and needed easy recipes to impress the ladies in Bible study and potential suitors alike. I love this recipe because it's easily altered to fit whatever kind of chocolate mood you might happen to find yourself in. And unless you are ME last night, it truly is a cinch to make. {How does my culinary mind know when I'm cooking for the added pressure of pictures...and suddenly it all goes wrong? Humility.}
Candy Shop Pizza
* 1 18-ounce roll of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
* 1/2 cup peanut butter
* 6 ounces chocolate chips
* 1 medium size bag peanut butter M and M's
Press cookie dough over a pizza pan or onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 11-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.While dough is hot, drop teaspoonfuls of peanut butter around it and sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Let it melt slightly {about five minutes} and spread both over the cookie to make a "sauce". Arrange candy on top of melted chocolate and peanut butter. Let it harden for a few hours or overnight. Cut in squares or triangles and serve!
A Few Tips:
* If you would rather use another kind of cookie dough to mix up the flavor, you certainly may!
* I usually make this in a rectangle cookie sheet with sides, but last night I made it on a round pizza stone so it would look authentic for Ryan's party. I learned that authentic comes at a price. The edges of the pizza may have overflowed into the bottom of our oven. Boy, doesn't our house smell PRETTY!!?!!? So if you're using a flat stone, you might put a larger pan underneath to catch the overflow. Or use a bigger stone. Or just have better luck than I did!
* You may use crunchy or creamy peanut butter, depending on what you like, and the same goes for milk chocolate chips vs. semi-sweet. I used crunchy peanut butter and milk chocolate chips.
* I used to make this recipe using multiple kinds of candy bars for the candy topping - chopping them up finely. Kit-Kat, Nestle Crunch, and Butterfinger were my favorite, because they chopped easily. But I really like using the M and M's now, because they look like pepperoni on the top there. It's a classier looking pizza in my opinion.{If anything can be classy when your house smells like burned cookies!}
* I also forgot last night that baking on a stone takes a little longer than a regular pan. I took it out too soon and had to put it back in...setting the burned cookie smell free in the house!
* Hope that everyone hates it so you can eat the entire pan. I'm looking at you, Ryan's work buddies.
This week, I started reading Your Sacred Yes by Susie Larson. Yes, you can expect a full report on the book when I've read it. Susie is, in my opinion, a gifted and anointed writer who speaks truth with much wisdom, compassion and passion. Lynne interviewed her about this book a couple of weeks ago, and just as I soaked up her on-air words, I'm soaking up her written words.
This line...in the introduction, no less...was for me: Nothing drains us more than signing up for things God never asked us to do.
In the last eleven weeks, since I began telling people of my decision to resign from my job, I've had so many questions about why. And there are multiple answers. There are also answers I'm sure I don't even know just yet.
But I think that quote encapsulates it more than I knew.
Let me back up, though.
Four years ago, when I left my eleven-year position at IWU, I knew without a single doubt in my typically-doubt-filled brain that God had called me to walk away from the security of that job and step out in faith to try something new, something beyond my comfort zone, and something entirely different than I'd ever done. I can still tell you, without wavering, about every door that swung wide open for me and pointed me to that job.
Going to WBCL was not a mistake. It was not a bad choice. It was a God-ordained appointment that I was 100% obedient in meeting, and I stand by that decision with all my heart. God led me to that job, and I went.
But in the last four years, life has drastically changed for me, and now the God-ordained appointments I have look different. {Remember my chat about change earlier this week? Got a heap of it going on in my own world right now.} And months ago, when I felt the first pangs of change and felt the first Holy nudges to step down, I grabbed an invisible pen and began rapidly signing up...for things God never asked me to do.
The signing up took the form of looking ahead on the work calendar and believing I needed to stay because...Lynne needed a vacation so they needed a backup host. Or because...a big event loomed just a few weeks away and they needed my help. Or because...Share was coming and that's such a busy time. Or because...or because...or because.
The reasons I wanted to stay were good reasons. They were to help Lynne, to help the station, to avoid disappointing the listeners, to shoulder the load. They were good and noble and even God-honoring in my heart...except...
I was signing up for things He never asked me to do.
Gulp.
I knew in this season, obedience didn't mean to stay. It meant to go. It meant to say a sacred yes to my new assignments. {Except Susie hadn't published the book yet so I didn't know to call it that!}
So that's what I'm doing. I'm choosing to say no to things that have been dear to me so I can say yes to things that are dear to Him.
I don't know what the weather is like where you live...but let's just say around here...I haven't watered flowers for a while. No need. The faucet in the sky seems to be stuck in the on position.
And while I would a MILLION times rather drive in rain than snow, rain brings a few perils of its own. And last night on the commute home...gulp...
I was driving home, minding my own business, keeping a happy distance between the Bekahmobile and the other cars. I noticed that quite a ways ahead of me, a pickup truck pulling a fifth-wheel eased onto the road from the shoulder on the righthand side.
I never saw the little blue car to know where it was in proximity to the pickup truck. I don't know if it came up behind him or was beside him. I don't know what started it...I only know that in one second, I saw that little blue car veer sharply to the left and into the median an spin out into a donut, throwing dirt, dust, and grass everywhere. My eyes were fixed on him, unsure if he was about to flip or spin back into the road or what. I slowed carefully on the wet road, and the pickup truck pulling a trailer just a ways behind me in the other lane slowed easily behind me. We both watched...waiting to see if the car would wreck...if we would need to stop and call 911.
The semi right behind me eased to the left to pass me, and that was fine. And then I saw the semi behind him, barreling down on me. So fast. I looked up at the semi in front of me, and my eyes darted behind me...and back and forth. My breath caught hard as I wondered if I was about to become a Bekah sandwich between these two trucks on the wet roads.
I thought of the accident Ryan and I saw on our way home from Gatlinburg...how we read later that the little car crumpled between the semis, and I wondered if I was about to be that car.
The semi behind me didn't slam on his brakes or blare his horn. He just pulled to the shoulder, over the deep rumble strips and kept going until he could slow enough to pull back in behind me. Up ahead, the blue car eased itself back onto the road, and the snarl of traffic that could have been a horrible accident all kept moving, with faster heartbeats, to be sure, but physically unharmed.
I'm always grateful for a safe commute. It's not lost on me that I've done this 100 mile per day {round trip} drive for four years now and have been kept safe every mile of the way. It's also not lost on me that weird things happen at the end of journeys and it's not all over yet. But last night, I was grateful for the safety of a Hand guiding my car and all the cars around me. Drivers who stayed alert, who reacted well...these things kept us all safe.
And it was also a great reminder that we don't always know the perils that chase us. Until the semi behind me changed lanes, I had no idea anyone was bearing down on him from behind. I had no idea I was in any danger. That truck was just a few hundred feet back and I didn't know he was there and what kind of trouble could have loomed for both of us.
In those moments - on the road and in life - I'm so grateful for a God Who sees more than I can.
