When Will This Journey End

When will this journey end? Been on this road so long now. I can’t see the beginning, can’t see no end. This dusty, broken road; so many twists, turns, forks and stones in my path. This is a lonesome dreary highway with no future, no past. The tears I cried turn the dirt to mud, stormy winds blow dust in my eyes, I stumble, trip and fall over rocks and ruts. When, O’ when will this journey end?

When will this journey end? This burden on my back sometimes bows me, presses me to the ground. On wobbly, weary legs I struggle to rise, this aging and broken man. I lean upon my walking stick. I turn my face into the hot gritty wind; my head hung low, eyes down cast. Should I ask, take this weight from my heart and sorrow from my soul? When, O’ when will this journey end?

When will this journey end? I refuse to ask, Lord take me this burden from my back; bring this bitter road to its end. Yet, I beg, Lord help me to walk this “lonesome valley,” help climb the next looming hill. Still I plead, Lord give me strength to finish the course, that I may soon come to the end of this “dead man’s walk.” When, O’ When will this journey end?

Bob

The Winds of Change

I have invested, to the best of my ability, my full mental resources today to what I believe is serious reflection. My thoughts have wandered or swerved into metaphorical territory, so stand by for a brief journey down the rabbit hole. These ideas have come to a clear focus on the hurricane force winds that swirl across the landscape of my mortal existence. These gale force winds of change are a constant companion, an ever present reality. It is a sandy, gritty, static charged black blizzard, right out of the “dust bowl.” A raging, unforgiving force covering the fruitful plain that I once knew as my life, but now has become deserted and barren wasteland. The tornados of doubt and fear that race across the countryside with F-5 force, threaten to destroy every natural and human made obstacle in its path.

It is an alien, brutal, hostile and destructive environment in which we have landed. Here we attempt to survive without environment suits or shelter from the elements that surround us. We feel the pressures from within and on every side, to conform, to compromise or to capitulate to these pressures. How we deal with the winds and storms of change that come our way is as important to our moral, spiritual and emotional wellbeing and growth as any choice we make or attitude we may hold.

Out of these storms comes the tsunami of God’s love, mercy and grace. The tectonic shift of the global plates forces the tidal wave to surge against the shores of darkness and defeatism. The whirlwind of God’s truth flows from the mouth of the one who spoke into existence the universe with all innumerable hosts of stars that blanket the heavens in all its wonder and glory. It is the awesome cyclonic breath (spirit) of God that fills the sails of our hearts speeds our faith through the tumultuous seas of doubt and fear. It is a typhoon generated in warm tropical waters teeming with life, born of the word of God. The life giving monsoon of his word is able to erode the mistakes of the past, transform the errors of the present and create a transcendent future where we discover the wonders, mysteries and majesty of an unchanging God. He will fill us with hope, love, grace, faith and mercy. “Build your hope on things eternal, hold to God’s unchanging hands.”
Bob Phillips