Get Back On and Ride!

Romans 5:3-4
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Last week, my husband, Danny, and I take our first road trip together since our misadventure at a mountain cabin last spring.  We are off to visit a retired co-worker of Danny's whom he hasn't seen in ten years.  Lynn lives in Tennessee, so we travel the three-and-a-half hour journey along back roads, where the scenery and the no-stress drive through farmlands and small towns provide a calming alternative to the nerve-wracking interstate.

It is a route we've never taken before, so everything is fresh and new.  And so different from the roads we traverse when heading to a cabin in North Carolina.  Whereas we see Walmarts and Ingles grocery stores, not to mention cities of substantial size along the NC route, none of that applies here.  Cows far outnumber people, towns are tiny, quaint and old-fashioned, and Dollar General vie with Baptist churches for domination of the landscape.

One thing I notice, much to my chagrin, is all along the 150-mile drive, there is a sign for only one medical center.  One.  It's not even a hospital, for cryin' out loud!  I push the upsetting memories of our last infamous trip out of my mind.  And I say nothing to Danny.

We arrive at Lynn's welcoming lake house just in time for lunch as we planned.  What a lovely afternoon, spent in pleasant conversation and the best of company.

Lynn with Curly Sue and Danny

Knowing he would have no interest in driving home the same day, Danny arranges for a room at a lakeside lodge nearby.  It's not at all like the cabins we're accustomed to, but it's comfortable, affordable, and has a restaurant right on the property.  Here are some gorgeous photos Danny takes.

This is the lodge on the lake. 

After a delicious dinner, as we're sitting out on the lodge deck, Danny's comments catch me off guard.  "I'm really glad we took this trip," he says.  "You know the old saying, 'When you get thrown by a horse, get back on and ride?'  I needed this short excursion to assure me that everything is okay before we actually head to a cabin in November."

I'm transported back to the time when I was twelve.  To my great delight, my parents surprise me with riding lessons over the summer.  All is fine and dandy until a frisky, feisty gelding, who hadn't been ridden for days, decides a romp around the ring is in order.  Needless to say, I fall off and, thankfully, tumble into a thick cushion of sawdust.  Winded and shaken, I'm reluctant to mount any horse, no matter how gentle the trainer says it is.  But I do.  And this docile, sedate old mare, Flora, convinces me that I'm safe with her.

She gives me hope.

I smile at Danny.  "Maybe all you needed was to get back on the pony before you took on the full-sized horse."

Danny laughs.  "I guess you're right about that," he admits.  "I feel so good about everything now.  Honestly, I've been anxious about returning to a cabin, even though I knew I would persevere, but this journey has done a lot to erase the bad memories of our last vacation."

"It has for me, too, honey," I confess.  "We've both endured so much suffering this year, but you know what?"

"What?"

"We never gave up hope."

And don't you, my friends, ever give up hope either.  Have faith!  Get back on that horse and ride!

Amen.

We're off on another short road trip to visit my mother.  If you leave a comment, know I will respond sometime Wednesday evening.  Blessings!