bend

Good morning…

My friend hosted a stay-at-home sleepover party for the three of us last night. One of us has just turned seventy, the hostess and myself are turning sixty in the coming months. We each are negotiating a gentle bend in the road beneath our feet, shifting from one decade to another.

In the middle of the night I woke, but since I had forgotten to ask for the internet password, I could not write and post a blog. Instead I journaled about the painting I discovered hanging quaintly in the guest room bath.

“‘What will be’ is blocked for me,” I wrote. “Straight ahead is not an option. I am centered in the middle of a large and gentle bend. As I follow the light of God’s future for me, I will know just where to step. I take only what I can carry as I face the road ahead, a walking stick for balance, a suitcase of essentials, and cool pants that match the stars.”

God drew me to a David Whyte poem and a few Scripture verses to guide us into the light of a brand new day.

I will bless the Lord who guides me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
My body rests in safety.
You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever (Psalm 16:7-9, 11, NLT).

The three of us now read the blog post I crafted during our shared moments. In response, our sleepover host sends me a similar poem she just met this week. Together, side by side with God, we inch around the soft bend beneath our feet. As we quietly lean into today’s curve, we catch a glimpse of the rich vista lying just ahead.

Remember,” my inner apprentice reminds, “we make our way by walking.”

…Sue…

poem