le voyage plein d'espoir.

well today i did it. i hopped in the car and sped down the road.
but only an hour and a half.
you know, it's really lovely, driving on a 2-lane highway across the prairie, passing through towns of population 61, named Ihlen or Holland or Woodstock, seeing the sun set over abandoned farmhouses, catching an undisturbed moon and stars and some fresh prairie air on the deserted road home.
but we're not all wilderness forever! oh, no.
in fact, this very evening i was inside a MALL, in the largest south dakotan city [which would perhaps seem miniscule compared to the average 'small town' on either coast]. but it's ok. the kindly caribou man sympathized with my overwhelmedness over such a spree.
[so if a half-horse/half-man is called a centaur, what is a half-man/half-caribou called? just wondering.]
he made good coffee too.

..
oh home, you're such a drag sometimes, but so comfortable to return to. you're really not that bad.
truly the Lord gives grace to His children, whether near or far, in that He is ever our steadfast Keeper.
..

grow-up + build-up
this has nothing to do with the post's previous thoughts, but the Lord has really been teaching me lately from ephesians and 1 corinthians about growing up in Christ. everything is to be done for the edification of the Body [His Body, no less], and although we shall be His children eternally, we are always growing up in Him. just like in The Last Battle [i just finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia- CS Lewis], where Aslan and all the creatures keep urging the children on- "Further Up and Further In!"
there should never be a plateau in our walk, for we are sojourners here. every step taken upon our Word-enlightened paths grows lovelier, because each step takes us nearer to the heart of God. this whole Growing Up business has often left me quite baffled- but the Savior, has comforted my heart, and shown me that it is not merely outwardly that we have to grow up, but it is His delight that we should grow up into Him, and thereby be more thoroughly equipped to edify the Body also.
[see ephesians 4-5; 1 corinthians 14-15]