In The Light :: Driving with the lights on

     I love the open road, truly passionate about driving great distances across the vast expanses of this great country. The highways and by ways are like great comforters, friends who listen to your silence and allow you to just be. They are all ways  present, never ending and simple to understand, ready to receive me always.

     For as long as I’ve been driving I've enjoyed driving at night the length of Florida. I have brothers in Georgia and for me there is nothing more cathartic than the five hour drive. Though family in the car, they fall asleep, perhaps the greatest testament to trust in the care of another, me. As they gently slumber I am awake, both alone and accompanied, by them and by the road.

     I like Florida because on the turnpike there are moments when all one can see is what is right before them, all that the head lights allow you to see. No distractions or congestion, I think others do not drive at night because of this fact. Nothing to see but the black!

     There are stretches where one can look up into the mystery of the black and be reminded that God is surely an artist, composing in light and space. Masterful on a canvas that stretches further than one’s imagination and ready to give significance to the expanse.

• I am on the road and one with the road.

• I am consumed by the expanse and filled by it.

• I am with the dreaming and living a dream.

     Driving at night allows me to be in a moment but free from time. It is a gift that I truly treasure. I thought it would be an unequaled experience… until I drove the turnpike during the day. Recently I drove the length of Florida when the lights were on, and I learned that there are truths that are only understood when vision is allowed to be stretched by the presence of light that clothes a landscape, light that showers the horizon.

     I never noticed the pine forests at night, or the fantastic birds that patrol the sky. The river of grass that carpets the plains and the majesty of rolling hills. I never noticed how the sun would partner with the world to cast shadows that stretched and danced.  I never noticed how the warmth of the sun would cause the slumbering to smile.

     Driving with the lights on allowed me to come to this realization; wither at day or at night, it is the presence of light which makes the road I am on worth being on. Without light, the expanse is a void. 

In the light, the expanse is truly enjoyed.

Runners High :: In 3 Pics, The view is not enough.

     I so enjoy running the Rickenbacker Bridge on Saturday mornings. Since the beginning of this year, I've run it over 20 times. In truth I started as part of a New Year's resolution- loose weight and get healthy. What I did not expect was the transforming perspective running would give me.

     Each time I'm out... I have these moments of intense focus and sublime clarity. I now refer to them as gifts from God. These moments either help me understand something that has been happening in my life or as preparation for something about to happen.

Today was no different; Have you ever thought about your future?

     My run is 5 miles long and broken up into goals. From my car to the top of the W. Powell Bridge, from WP to the Miami Seaquarium (half way point) back to the top of the WP Bridge and off to my car. Today as I ran I had this thought; just because I can see my goals does not mean I have reached them. I could see the the bridge, but that wasn't good enough. 

     When I got to the top of the bridge, the view of the Miami sky line to my left, the bay to my right was amazing, in fact, distracting. In the distance, I could see the Seaquarium, but the view was not enough. My goal had yet to be reached, I was not done!

     I feel like sometimes we are so enamored by the view of the goal before us that we stop striving towards the goal... And that's a true shame. I believe God has a plan for us all! The prophet Jeremiah declared on behalf of God "I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." (Jeremiah 29:11 MSG)

     I hear the cry of Paul the Apostle "...Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win."(1 Corinthians 9:24 MSG) or even better, in The book of Timothy "This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way." (2 Timothy 4:7 MSG)

We are on God's mind, if only we would keep Him on ours.