We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Many of you know my husband and I went on a great adventure last week. We visited the Sedona and Grand Canyon of Arizona, went and stood on the corner in Winslow, and then made our way to Albuquerque. New Mexico was next and then the highlight and major point of interest of our trip: the Colorado Rocky Mountains. What a tremendous beauty awaited us there!

Next, we drove through--all the way through!--the great state of Kansas, which purports to being the sunflower state but at this time of the year I wasn't able to enjoy that proclamation. I also didn't see Dorothy, nor as we entered into Missouri was there a sign to let me know I wasn't in Kansas anymore. However, there was a sign (as you see pictured) that told me much about this pretty state that Oz likes so much. It got me to wondering: hmn, Stef, if there was a sign up about you for the whole universe to see, what would it say? What information would be included on it? What key points would be made obvious so that that portion of me wasn't to be missed and what parts would be left out, because either they are hidden treasures for only a few to find or perhaps because they are just best left unseen? What features would be highlighted and touted? And, lastly, what would my history say made me this way?

Wow: that's a lot of questions, huh? Hmn hmn hmn. Let me see if I can answer a few and then, as good tourists do, how about you add your responses so I can see what impressions I have left upon you?

The Kansas sign started out talking about a particular region so I will begin by talking about this period of my life. Way into my middle ages, you can see the ground covered as you look into my soulful eyes. Look deeply and you can see the traces of the rivers of tears that have been shed--both happy and sad ones. Look further and you might see the clouds that often shadow my baby blues in hopes of you not discovering all of my past mistakes that often try to haunt me. If you just give my eyes a quick once over, you will see obvious joy because that is what I choose most often to reveal to you.

Those lines on my faces? Uh oh. What stories do they tell? The wrinkles, the creases, the scars? The furrowed brow (although my eyebrows are so light you have to look quite closely for those!). Each tells its own tale of pain, of infections removed, of cancers taken away, and one is there from waaaaaay back from when I was hit near the eye from a baseball. That didn't damage my sight, thank the Good Lord, but it did give me a new appreciation for the gift of vision.

Check out the rest of my body. Be kind! It has some extra padding because through the years I used food as my security when things got too tough. "That's a lot of extra skin" you might say. Well, yes, but maybe that in itself tells you more than you care to fish further for.

More scars are located in various locations. The one I am most proud of but will not be showing you pics of is located on my stomach, from where my beautiful daughter was taken. There's one below it (that you also will not see) that shows where no more babies would be coming from. It's too sad to ponder on so let's move on, shall we? My arms, legs, and back have many more scars from various skin cancers removed. Thankfully, there are no other surgery scars to report so most of my battles have only been skin deep. Ha! Now that's an analogy if I ever heard one!

My left foot has a barely discernible scar from a catfight with my sister Mary. I smile when I look at it 'cause we were kids and did some dumb stuff. Mary's gone but when I look at this scar, she is still with me. I also have two other siblings who left their marks but again, those scars you won't be privy to. Call them the unexplorable regions.

Okay, before I ramble on much more, let's finish this road sign. I have some places I'd love to share with you that aren't evident on my body map. The place where I met Jesus isn't on here. The many scrapes He got me out of won't be able to be seen with the naked eye but you know what? That's why He gave me a voice: to tell you of them. As you know, if you are a faithful reader, you get to read about them often! But how I wish I could take you to some of them, friends. From the mountaintop experiences to the valley of the shadows to the curves in the road and the bumps along this wandering journey, Christ Jesus has been my Guide. Yes, there were times I tried to travel the road less traveled and wound up getting into territory I had no business being in. However, all I had to do was cry out to Him and He beckoned me back, to safety, to home.

In conclusion, if there was a sign, a billboard, or just a notecard that had to sum up the Wandering Stef, it would have a lot to say. Or, perhaps, like the old expression goes "a picture is worth more than a thousand words" it might just be that: a photograph of me for you to determine what and who I am. Like the Mona Lisa, there's more to me than meets the eye. Lucky for you, you don't have to go to a museum to find me! ;)

Let's pray!

Dear Lord, once again I have stumbled about, trying to make some sense from a seemingly random thought. Will You bless what I am trying to say as I endeavour to point others to You? Will You let the folks who read this see that our lives are on constant display and we need to be reflecting You? Will You help me especially, God, 'cause I am the one who needs it the most, to ever be mindful that one day my life will be over and it's what I do now that matters most? Not the things of my past: those cannot be undone. Not my future hopes and dreams because You have not promised me tomorrow. May my daily billboard be one that proclaims Jesus Saves, Redeems, and Restores. That is my prayer, asked in Your Son's precious name: amen.