We went to El Paso yesterday in hopes of shopping at Costco. Options for bulk shopping in Silver City is a bit scarce, so we finally loaded up the car and headed to Texas. It was so weird to cross the New Mexico/ Texas border and know that we were still about 10 hours away from our family and friends. No chance for a visit yesterday, but it was fun to think we were on the same soil.
Anyway, we get to Costco and it was closed. Us girls laughed silently because we knew how upset Andres was. He thought it said they'd be open on-line, but instead of it being open on New Year's Day, it was New Year's Eve. So, we dished out a bunch of grace, which wasn't hard to do because we LOVE to hit the road for a day trip, and we headed over to the Dollar Tree (which was a treat in itself), and had lunch at Taco Cabana.
After our El Paso lunch and excursion to the Dollar Tree, we stopped by a mall, which only made us long for Silver City that much more. We have realized on these little outings that we really don't miss mass shopping, cars or people. We love our quiet town, with long conversations and odd stores to pick up things. Well, on the way home, Andres took us the very scenic route, to surprise us girls. I'm tellin' ya....us girls love a road trip. We love stopping by for a fountain drink, and snack of choice, and then taking off our shoes and looking out the window. WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!
The scenic route he took was down 152, after traveling a bit down 25. We first drove through this quaint town of Hillsboro, NM, and then low and behold mountains!! Aaahhhh.......there's nothing like the feeling of escalation. I love hearing the low gears kick in, and the car revving up a bit more as it struggles to climb. Up, up, and up we went. We saw some of the most beautiful views of the Black Range Mountains. It was amazing!!
It was amazing, and then something began to happen. The sun set quickly and there we were in the middle of this range of mountains, unfamiliar to us, and the further we climbed, we discovered snow/ice. Now we were driving 10 miles an hour and with every sharp turn, I was just praying and even pushing out very gory thoughts that kept running through my mind. All I could see was a HUGE black hole on either side of us. It was so intense. When we got home, I looked up the stats for this mountain. Parts of it reach 10,200 feet. Yikes! Here's a picture I found on-line and as any picture of creation, it doesn't really do it justice.
That's when the Lord spoke. He pointed out how relaxed the girls were. In fact, they were having a great time. Katie was putting on a puppet show for Sofie, with the Dollar Tree items she purchased, Brie was listening to her iPod while catching glimpses out her window and Sofie was just relaxed as anything. You see, God wants to drive the vehicle of our life. He is the safe, cautious driver of this vehicle I call Elizabeth Anne. He never intended for me to sit up front with Him because the overall views of what would be ahead are way too intense. It's somewhat scary, frightening, and given the chance I'd want to turn around. He wants me to relax in the back, take in the views from the vantage point He has given me, and trust Him when we go up, or when we head down, are all the bends in the road that sometimes we take. When I realized this, I realized how often we try to be His front seat passenger, and how little we enjoy the ride He takes us on. We want to tell Him to slow down, be careful, watch out, not that way, what about here, can we stop and the list goes on. The girls had no idea of all the scary possibilities!!! They loved our time in the Black Range Mountains, and they would not have settled for the flat surfaces through Highway 10.
I love Him so much! I thank Him for taking me on the adventurous drives of life and teaching me as we head through treacherous parts. And I pray that I am never accustomed to the creation He has made for you and me.
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