Lent A Journey

You'll notice this title doesn't have any punctuation.  I didn't forget, I have actually been "lent" a journey.  This whole season of Lent has been a journey.  That's actually the point of Lent, is to walk the path with Jesus.  It is a time for us to share HIS journey.  Share in his dying so you can share in his rising.  I wasn't sure this blog was going to be enough of a sacrifice to get my heart and soul closer to God this year.  It is.  It's been quite a journey, and it's only starting out. 

So tomorrow I'm leaving on another journey.  This journey is also being lent to me.  I am a traveling companion, along for the ride to offer friendship and support.  I will be there when my friend needs me to help her deal with the impending death of her brother.  I don't know all the details, nor is it my place to know.  He is dying.  We are going. 'Nuff said.  I am excited.  I've never been to Wyoming, and to me it is a grand adventure.  Although, I also see dying as a grand adventure, so maybe I'm "not like everybody else."  It should be an interesting and blessed trip.  Pray for our safety, and for our strength, please, this won't be easy on my friend, and she really is a wonderful person. 

So this reminds me of traveling with another companion.  Her name is Sylvia, and we went to Oklahoma when she was 3 to see her big brother (who is also her Godfather) marry his high school sweetheart, Misty.  She was pretty sure they needed someone to hold the flowers.  They did.  Good thing she was there!  We sat on the benches with her being crabby, and watched the guys in striped prison suits being led into and out of the courtroom.  (It was very surreal!  I swear, the Sherriff looked like Roscoe P Coltraine!)  Then it was our turn.  We watched them promise to love and care for each other.  It was beautiful!  Then we went out to throw rice at them as they left the courthouse.  The prisoners were yelling their best wishes from the well-guarded fenced area nearby.  How sweet!  

Oklahoma is a place rich in Native American culture.  It is close to Texas (where I've never been) and has all kinds of cool caves and stuff to explore.  So I ask Sylvia which of these awesome educational experiences she'd like to have.  "I want to chase the birds!" She says.  Would you like to go explore a cave?  "No, I just want to chase the birds!" She says again.  Hmmm.  I came all the way to Oklahoma... We're only an hour from Texas...  Okay.  Fine.  We found a small park nearby.  With birds.  

We end up spending the next 2 hours at this park.  She stalks the birds slowly, then goes running at them flailing and yelling, making them scatter and fly away in a panic, and watches with glee as they fly!  I had forgotten how much fun this really is.  In all of the planning and preparation, and the drama that goes with getting married and having a grown child, and lots of not-yet-grown children, I forgot to chase the birds.  

We swing, and I push her as long as she wants to swing.  I soon forget about Texas.  It's not going anywhere.  We walk the entire perimeter of this park, and talk about things important to three year olds.  Wow, that IS a really big stick.  No, I don't think Oklahoma has alligators like Florida.  And I don't know what kind of birds they are, but they sure come back quickly, so we're chasing again until the sun starts to set!  By the time we get back to the hotel, she's asleep.  And satisfied.  She loves Oklahoma, they have great birds. 

My traveling companion taught me so much about enjoying life.  I hope I can do the same for my friend.  Especially when she knows this will be their last visit.  I hope we don't get too bogged down in the business of dying that we forget to enjoy the living we still have left.