Regarding Life's 'Musts'

Today's post was inspired, in part,  by a comment Jim (my husband, a truck driver)

 made this morning, as he envisioned another week 

of snowy roads, winter driving etc...

Not in disrespect to my 'I will pray for you'

he simply stated the matter of fact/must;

'all your prayers don't take away the fact that I

still have to face the weather and the highway...'

What a picture of life for all of us!!!

 and what a comfort of love!

When we pray for each other, 'for God to guide and keep'

the prayer does not take away the 'road ahead'

  but suddenly, gloriously 

a miraculous transformation takes place!

We go from this...

to this!!

(oops!! I missed a word in the reference below but

drawing is way too challenging for me to attempt a do-over 😂😐)

also, a glimpse at what happens when I look at the clock and g-a-a-a-asp!

“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”;

Life's storms come, and pass

just as one 'must' precedes another!

No matter what we say to someone

we cannot take their 'Must' away.

(Jesus, in Gethsemane, though he pleaded was not spared)

We cannot travel their stretch of highway,

we cannot carry their cross.

We can walk alongside each other and

encourage each other, but we cannot

do each other's 'must'.

How wonderful then, the holy opportunity

free to all, to ask God to help us,

 to hold our hand and to go before us.

We don't have to face life's 'musts' alone!

Oh think about this;

We alone, are responsible for our fellowship with our

Heavenly Father; surely the most sacred 'must' of all.

May we pray, as Jesus in Gethsemane prayed , 'not my will, but Thine!'

Or in the Lord's Prayer, 'Thy will be done'.

Isa.45:2-3 & 5-8

“I will go before you

and level the mountains; 

I will break down the gates of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron.

3I will give you the treasures of darkness

and the riches hidden in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the LORD,

the God of Israel, who calls you by name...

5I am the LORD, and there is no other;

there is no God but Me.

I will equip you for battle,

though you have not known Me,

6so that all may know,

from where the sun rises to where it sets,

that there is none but Me;

I am the LORD, and there is no other.

7I form the light and create the darkness;

I bring prosperity and create calamity.

I, the LORD, do all these things.

8Drip down, O heavens, from above,

and let the skies pour down righteousness.

Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout

and righteousness spring up with it;

I, the LORD, have created it.

Read the whole glorious chapter HERE

***

Life's burdens must be borne

Its highways must be trod

Its holy unknowns must be faced

Either fear or faith-shod

Its mornings must be met

Its tests must be endured

Its tempests must be weathered, pray

Hope's Anchor is secured

Life's deserts must be crossed

Its hurdles must be leapt

Its battles must be won or lost

Promises must be kept

Its choices must be made

Its voices must be heard

Its sorrows must be suffered, for

Love's due is undeterred

Life's lessons must be learned

Through much-mistake accrued 

Its crown of wisdom must be earned

Humble pie must be chewed

And each of us must choose

How we will heed life's call

Whether we will trust or refuse

The God who loves us all 

Life's burdens must be borne

Its highways must be trod

Its unknowns, betwixt morn-to-morn

Never too hard for God 

© Janet Martin 

Being a transport truck driver in the winter

is not for the faint of heart!

Will you pray for their safety and encouragement too?

Isa.45:21-22

...There is no other God but Me,

a righteous God and Savior;

there is none but Me.

22Turn to Me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth;

for I am God,

and there is no other.

'Til the Storm Passes By

Lyrics-Songwriters: Thomas Mosie Lister

… In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face

While the storms howl above me, and there's no hiding place

'Mid the crash of the thunder, precious Lord, hear my cry

Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by

… 'Til the storm passes over, 'til the thunder sounds no more

'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by

… Many times Satan whispered, "There is no need to try

For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by"

But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise

Where the storms never darken the skies

… 'Til the storm passes over, 'til the thunder sounds no more

'Til the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by

Of Fireside and Friendly Chair (hubby would testify this is definitely a direction on his compass:)

 I was going to call the person who kicked off their footwear to come and put it away...then I noticed most of it was mine...oops;-(

PAD Challenge day 21: For today’s prompt, pick a direction on the compass, make it the title of your poem, and write that poem.

From north and south, from east and west

Wherever we come from

The one direction we love best

Is that which points us home

The heart for all its dreaming ways

Wherever it may roam

Concedes, no matter where its strays

There is no place like home

The footwear on the rag-mat there

Are worn by those we love

Its fingerprints and crumbs and cares

A sacred treasure-trove

And though the lure of distant quest

Of sea or mountain air

May draw us, north, south, east and west

To taste its fancied fare

…nothing can ever quite compare

With that to which we come

Of fireside and friendly chair

And darling home, sweet home

© Janet Martin

Jim says there is one thing that motivates him every Monday when he leaves; to see how soon he can point the nose of his rig homeward. It is pointed that way now somewhere in the big, white north.

 Most truckers prefer the green backdrop to white:)

Last week this crash reignited fervent prayer for all our trucker-heroes! Thankfully no one was seriously hurt!

We are proud and thankful for our dedicated transport truck-drivers!

 

Life's Moment-sky

 This morning life's moment-sky is as colorless and bleak as the landscape.

In my heart of hearts I know

This time beneath life’s moment-sky

Is but a twinkling ebb and flow

Before we bid its gasp good-bye

This time beneath life’s moment-sky

Is a scabbard of mystery

And none of us can prophesy

The details shaping history

Its keen, ephemeral ebb and flow

Will test and try our boasted trust

For none of us can really know

Our depth of faith until we must

Before we bid its gasp good-bye

May we acknowledge only this

…One greater than life’s moment-sky

Prevails, and where we are HE IS

© Janet Martin

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

The truck my husband drives broke down shortly after he loaded in Sask. yesterday. Since no mechanic has time to even look at it until next week he is flying home this morning. We never know what a day will bring and it is better in the long run that we do not. God provides grace and strength in our hour of need and only for the hour we are in!

Big Wheels Turning

They turn...
Those big wheels
Fueled by love and passion
By desire and demand
By duty and dreams

They turn
Taking Daddies from their babies
Men from their lovers
But love's sacrifice has no end
it seems

They turn
Kept by prayers
of little girls in flannel nighties
and boys of
 rambunctious lust

Big wheels turning
in the moonlight
as miles cool farewell kisses
and bills keep a-coming...
in God we trust

Janet;  (for hubby) who lives above eighteen wheels turning...

Poetics Aside Prompt: Wheels Poem