I'm writing today from a coffee shop in a small town I didn't plan to stay in. God has a funny way of encouraging His children to stop and smell the roses. Here's the story:
Thursday after work I buzzed down to a small town south of the metro to drop my car off and meet up with my dad to drive to Indianapolis for the weekend because Dad had another marathon to run. I left my car with a former co-worker and family friend and spent just a few minutes catching up while we waited for Dad to arrive. I got in the car with my dad and immediately said, "Man, I miss those guys!" Dad asked, "Why don't you come see them more often -- they're not that far from you!" I agreed and said I didn't know why but that I could be more intentional about those friendships.
We had a great weekend in Indianapolis. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to navigate the city and how beautiful some parts of it were. We never really got lost, which, if you know either Dad or myself, that's worth celebrating! One of these days we will be dubbed King and Princess of the Shortcuts to Nowhere. At one point, my dad was talking about a fellow marathon runner he had met recently and how her excitement to finish the race had actually lead her to run too fast too soon and now she was out of energy and in pain. As he ran with her, he coached her, "Just walk -- it's okay to just walk. At this point [in a marathon] it's not about going fast, it's about finishing well -- just enjoy the journey."
Lightbulb moment: So often, we are so caught up in trying to finish whatever we're working on that we can't even really see the beauty that's around us. In our haste to achieve or to reach the point where our metaphorical legs aren't in so much pain, we end up continuing to run when what God might be asking us to do is just walk for a while.
Then came the phone call: "Hey Jacque, I hate to be the bearer of bad news... but your car won't start. We checked all the typical causes and have no idea what's wrong with it. It sounds like it wants to turn over, but it just won't. You might be stranded when you get back to MN, but we'll keep you posted. You can stay with us, no problem." If you know anything about my relationship with cars in the last two years, it's okay-- you can laugh at the irony of this. Not again! Yes, again... but there was nothing to be done until we were back in MN, so I put it on my mental back-burner and just kept enjoying the trip.
On our drive home, we decided to stop a little ways out of Indianapolis for lunch and maybe a shower for dad, so we pulled into the last stop in Lafayette, IN figuring surely there would be something for lunch. Several signs pointed left for restaurants, but when we turned left, it basically went nowhere and then shot us back out of town on a highway nowhere near the interstate we needed. Quickly we began laughing about navigating a new major metro area no problem, but not being able to find fast food off the Interstate. So, when it became clear we missed something, I hung a right thinking, "Well, at least we're moving west!" The road brought us through a cemetery where the oak trees were a gorgeous shade of yellow and sparkled in the sun. At the same time, Dad and I whispered, "Whoa." It was the breath-taking type of beautiful and we would've never known what we were missing without the unintentional detour. And then, without warning, we went into a river valley with equally as stunning views and back out. And then, somewhat magically, an entire span of stores and roads appeared. Lunch was served with a view! It was another reminder: enjoy where you're at because there's a lot of good happening and you have no idea what's just over the hill. Okay God, I get it. But He wasn't done yet.
So, yesterday afternoon, Dad and I rolled into town to see what the scoop was with my car. I had a tow truck take it to the mechanic's shop on Sunday but then all that was left to do was wait for Monday morning since the shop isn't open Sundays. Just three days after saying, "I miss these guys," God gave us a bonus visit in the form of an overnight stay. We spent the evening just talking, eating tacos (my love language!), catching up, enjoying the antics of their girls, and resting. Balm for the weary soul, indeed.
At one point in the conversation, both myself and the wife of the couple acknowledged that God was probably up to more than just a car repair. We both sensed there was a reason we needed that time together -- to walk together, even if it's just for a few hours, to encourage each other and enjoy a friendship and all God has given us, even though our lives look really different. I thought about the number of ways that was true this weekend, not just with the car and these friendships, and not just in the detour through Lafayette, but also in the very fact that God has afforded me the time and resources to go on the trip in the first place. If I had gotten everything I prayed so hard for earlier in life like a spouse and children, this whole trip probably wouldn't be possible -- none of the trips we've taken lately would! Times and trips like this are precious and someday, this season will end. So often I've prayed for my singleness to end, but the longer I'm single, the more intensely I feel both the pain of running alone but the immense beauty of walking wherever God leads being totally free of huge life commitments like maintaining a good marriage and raising children while working a career I love. This freedom to detour, to change plans, to enjoy what today brings, and to be really flexible is a gift. I don't want to run through it even though my heart desires that someday I will finish this race of singleness.
So now, I am waiting for the car to be fixed. And it just so happens there's a coffee shop down the street from their house that is owned by Christians and they just happen to be running a special appreciation deal for people in ministry, so my entire breakfast was free. So I'm writing because God deserves all the glory for things only He could orchestrate. If I had driven the car home and this had happened, I don't know what I would've done. The Lord protects His children. And along the way, there are innumerable blessings for us to enjoy as we walk. I'm determined to enjoy the walk, even though I'm tempted (like the marathon runner) to bolt ahead to what's next.
Update: in the time it took me to write that last paragraph my car has been finished. And the cost is minimal because they're pretty sure the issue is a quirk of this engine that just doesn't like to run cold. Lesson learned: warm up the car before we drive it. God uses anything He wants to get us to hit pause, to see and enjoy what's around us, and then when the time is right, to keep moving forward.
Here's the coffee shop -- definitely worth a stop if you're passing through Owatonna.
Thursday after work I buzzed down to a small town south of the metro to drop my car off and meet up with my dad to drive to Indianapolis for the weekend because Dad had another marathon to run. I left my car with a former co-worker and family friend and spent just a few minutes catching up while we waited for Dad to arrive. I got in the car with my dad and immediately said, "Man, I miss those guys!" Dad asked, "Why don't you come see them more often -- they're not that far from you!" I agreed and said I didn't know why but that I could be more intentional about those friendships.
We had a great weekend in Indianapolis. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to navigate the city and how beautiful some parts of it were. We never really got lost, which, if you know either Dad or myself, that's worth celebrating! One of these days we will be dubbed King and Princess of the Shortcuts to Nowhere. At one point, my dad was talking about a fellow marathon runner he had met recently and how her excitement to finish the race had actually lead her to run too fast too soon and now she was out of energy and in pain. As he ran with her, he coached her, "Just walk -- it's okay to just walk. At this point [in a marathon] it's not about going fast, it's about finishing well -- just enjoy the journey."
Lightbulb moment: So often, we are so caught up in trying to finish whatever we're working on that we can't even really see the beauty that's around us. In our haste to achieve or to reach the point where our metaphorical legs aren't in so much pain, we end up continuing to run when what God might be asking us to do is just walk for a while.
Then came the phone call: "Hey Jacque, I hate to be the bearer of bad news... but your car won't start. We checked all the typical causes and have no idea what's wrong with it. It sounds like it wants to turn over, but it just won't. You might be stranded when you get back to MN, but we'll keep you posted. You can stay with us, no problem." If you know anything about my relationship with cars in the last two years, it's okay-- you can laugh at the irony of this. Not again! Yes, again... but there was nothing to be done until we were back in MN, so I put it on my mental back-burner and just kept enjoying the trip.
On our drive home, we decided to stop a little ways out of Indianapolis for lunch and maybe a shower for dad, so we pulled into the last stop in Lafayette, IN figuring surely there would be something for lunch. Several signs pointed left for restaurants, but when we turned left, it basically went nowhere and then shot us back out of town on a highway nowhere near the interstate we needed. Quickly we began laughing about navigating a new major metro area no problem, but not being able to find fast food off the Interstate. So, when it became clear we missed something, I hung a right thinking, "Well, at least we're moving west!" The road brought us through a cemetery where the oak trees were a gorgeous shade of yellow and sparkled in the sun. At the same time, Dad and I whispered, "Whoa." It was the breath-taking type of beautiful and we would've never known what we were missing without the unintentional detour. And then, without warning, we went into a river valley with equally as stunning views and back out. And then, somewhat magically, an entire span of stores and roads appeared. Lunch was served with a view! It was another reminder: enjoy where you're at because there's a lot of good happening and you have no idea what's just over the hill. Okay God, I get it. But He wasn't done yet.
So, yesterday afternoon, Dad and I rolled into town to see what the scoop was with my car. I had a tow truck take it to the mechanic's shop on Sunday but then all that was left to do was wait for Monday morning since the shop isn't open Sundays. Just three days after saying, "I miss these guys," God gave us a bonus visit in the form of an overnight stay. We spent the evening just talking, eating tacos (my love language!), catching up, enjoying the antics of their girls, and resting. Balm for the weary soul, indeed.
At one point in the conversation, both myself and the wife of the couple acknowledged that God was probably up to more than just a car repair. We both sensed there was a reason we needed that time together -- to walk together, even if it's just for a few hours, to encourage each other and enjoy a friendship and all God has given us, even though our lives look really different. I thought about the number of ways that was true this weekend, not just with the car and these friendships, and not just in the detour through Lafayette, but also in the very fact that God has afforded me the time and resources to go on the trip in the first place. If I had gotten everything I prayed so hard for earlier in life like a spouse and children, this whole trip probably wouldn't be possible -- none of the trips we've taken lately would! Times and trips like this are precious and someday, this season will end. So often I've prayed for my singleness to end, but the longer I'm single, the more intensely I feel both the pain of running alone but the immense beauty of walking wherever God leads being totally free of huge life commitments like maintaining a good marriage and raising children while working a career I love. This freedom to detour, to change plans, to enjoy what today brings, and to be really flexible is a gift. I don't want to run through it even though my heart desires that someday I will finish this race of singleness.
So now, I am waiting for the car to be fixed. And it just so happens there's a coffee shop down the street from their house that is owned by Christians and they just happen to be running a special appreciation deal for people in ministry, so my entire breakfast was free. So I'm writing because God deserves all the glory for things only He could orchestrate. If I had driven the car home and this had happened, I don't know what I would've done. The Lord protects His children. And along the way, there are innumerable blessings for us to enjoy as we walk. I'm determined to enjoy the walk, even though I'm tempted (like the marathon runner) to bolt ahead to what's next.
Update: in the time it took me to write that last paragraph my car has been finished. And the cost is minimal because they're pretty sure the issue is a quirk of this engine that just doesn't like to run cold. Lesson learned: warm up the car before we drive it. God uses anything He wants to get us to hit pause, to see and enjoy what's around us, and then when the time is right, to keep moving forward.
Here's the coffee shop -- definitely worth a stop if you're passing through Owatonna.
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