Caution...Rough road ahead!

We found ourselves on a very rough road!  It was full of potholes, ruts, and turns.  It was a difficult road to walk down until I realized that we weren't alone, and that there was a way through.

Talk about hairpin turns!

Expectations and assumptions can be dangerous.  Seventeen years ago we started on this journey.  I wasn't expecting there to be so many potholes, and I assumed that we would be able to easily navigate any twists or turns that we might come upon.  I was wrong.  The road we were on was bumpy and full of dangerous, hairpin curves.  There were times that I didn't think we would make it.  There were many times that I thought the road was too long and too hard.  Sometimes I wanted to just give up, find another road.  I searched and searched, but there were no other roads.  We were stuck.  Like it or not, this was our road.   All we could do was keep moving, try to avoid getting stuck in the big ruts, and maneuver the curves as best we could.



Our road

It has been a very long and lonely road too.  Sometimes we wouldn't see another soul for miles and miles, but then every once in awhile we'd come upon a fellow traveler, someone who was just trying to make it down that same unforgiving road too.  As we walked along together for awhile, we would  swap stories about all the scary dips in the road that we had safely negotiated.  It felt good to have company, to have someone who knew what it was like to have to dodge all those potholes.

It was the road less traveled, and we weren't there by choice.  Many times I wanted to turn around and go back, but it was a one-way road.  This wasn't the way it was supposed to be.  All my expectations, all my assumptions, were so mistaken.   How could I have been so wrong?  How were we ever going to make it?

I kept falling in all the potholes.  I kept getting stuck in all the ruts.  With every curve I found myself flat on my face again, staring at nothing but asphalt.   Some of the holes were really deep, and I didn't think we could climb out.  I thought we might get stuck there forever until...I decided to look up, and there He was, arms wide open, waiting to help us out of that hole.  He walked the rest of the way with us.  He pointed out every pitfall and turn.  If we fell down, He helped us up, and we kept walking.

God knows ALL the curves!

The road was still bumpy and full of holes, but it was easier because He was with us.  I knew it would still be hard, but I also knew that we weren't alone, and that made all the difference.  We walked together for 17 years until the road came to an abrupt end, and we suddenly found ourselves on a new road.  This road was much straighter and much smoother.  We were so thankful to be moving in a new direction.

We can't see all the way to the end.  It's likely that there will be some twists and turns along this road too, but we aren't alone.  He is still with us, and so we journey on.  There are many others on the road with us too.  They welcome us, and they are happy that we are walking with them.



Grandma Golly

My grandmother, we call her Grandma Golly, is walking along with us.  She is 85 now, so it's a difficult walk for her.  Her arthritis slows her down, but it doesn't stop her.  She is so happy for us, and so glad that we are all walking on this new road together.  Sometimes she is overwhelmed with joy, and happy tears stream down her face.  She is praising God too and thanking Him for all the new roads He is building for us.  She recognizes His handiwork and understands that His ways are higher than our own.



Grandma Annette with (from left) Christopher, Michael, and Ryan.

Mike's grandmother, Grandma Annette, has already reached the end of her journey.  She is at home with Jesus now.  From heaven, we know that she too is thanking God for new roads.  She is celebrating with all the angels the generous gift of healing that God has given Christopher.  It is no accident that Christopher will have his feeding tubes removed on April 26th.  It was Grandma Annette's birthday.   I can feel her smiling from heaven!

More tomorrow... 

Special Note:  Tomorrow is the big day!  Christopher's feeding tubes are coming out.  Please help us pray that the holes that have been in for 17 years will close up on their own and not require surgery.


If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can pray like this: