How God Provides…

 “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever.”*

     I knew that it was going to be hard to meet the Recorder deadline last week. Since Al and I were flying out to California early Saturday morning, I planned on getting a head start by writing down some ideas several days ahead of the Wednesday afternoon deadline. But that didn’t work out. There were too many things to do before leaving home and a sprained left ankle slowed me down.

     So the article was put off until after we were on our way. It was a good opportunity to trust the Lord for the right slot of time to do some writing. Rather than working on it during the flight on Saturday, I had an interesting conversation with the amazing young woman sitting next to me. She was the Vice President of a large drug company based in Orange County and talked about new research on diseases of the human eye. It caught my attention, especially since Al was recently told that he would need cataract surgery in the near future.

    The purpose of our trip was to reconnect with many of our friends and family, which we did from the very beginning. After landing at the Los Angeles airport and collecting our luggage, Al and I rented a car and then drove to Long Beach where we had arranged to rendezvous with a special friend of ours who had been in a Singles Bible study group with me for several years.

     We had an enjoyable time together over lunch, then drove to Ventura where we met my brother, Jack,  and his wife at their church for the Saturday evening service. By the time we finally went to bed, it was late. Our body clocks were mixed up, having started out at 4:30 am, Eastern Standard time, and calling it a day around 10:30 pm Pacific time that night.

     It wasn’t until the next morning that there was time to read my Bible, pray and quiet down so that I could think clearly enough to write. It was the perfect opportunity to get that needed head start on the article. Jack fixed a special Mother’s Day barbecue that evening. Afterward they took us on a tour of the picturesque community of Ojai, pointing out the area that had been devastated by a fire last fall.

     On Monday, we drove to the home of friends in Moorpark for a reunion with a small group that has been meeting together since college days. This involved much “power talking” as Al calls it, to catch up on all of the events that had transpired since we had last seen each other. Our hostess prepared a gourmet meal and we stayed around the table for several hours, sharing and praying together. An encouraging and inspiring time!

     Some of us planned to spend the night there and then tour the Getty Museum on Tuesday. I was strongly advised to get a wheelchair because of my sprained ankle and agreed, even though it was a blow to my pride. But it was good advice, since the museum is huge and involves many flights of stairs.

     By the time we located our car in the multi-leveled parking lot, the northbound 405 freeway was jammed with cars. Rush hour traffic starts early in Los Angeles! Our next destination was Bakersfield, where we would be spending the night with my sister and brother-in-law. She kindly had dinner ready when we arrived—two tired travelers! By this time, I was feeling some pressure about writing the article for the paper.

     Later, after visiting, I sat down at the table. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted my writing from Sunday and had to start over. Like my mom used to say, “Praise the Lord anyway!”

     On the second try, I decided to tell about the beginning of our trip west, about the struggles, the adventures of the journey so far and the joy of reconnecting with many of the special people in our lives. Al and I are grateful for each one of them and also for the new folks we are meeting along the way.

     Isn’t that just like our journey through life with its setbacks and adventures, long term relationships and new ones too? Life is a gift from God, who loves us, graciously provides for us and blesses us.

*Psalm 136:1 NIV

The gardens at Getty Museum...a treat to behold!