Oh the Drive...

If you know me pretty well, you know I complain about driving when I go home...maybe it's just habit..anyway, I always have good stories.  Like today...on the road by 6:15 AM (yep you read that correctly)...stopped at 7:15 to get breakfast and much needed large coffee at El McDonaldos...pouring down rain...and I fly by the cash window like it's not going to be open...to which the woman YELLS "Hey!  Hey!  Hey!  Come back!"  Yes, I am almost 30 years old...hopefully you do dumb stuff too and are still able to laugh at yourself.

Anyway, back to my original thought...driving...I complain, but really, the time on the road is therapy for me. It gives me time to think, reflect, be quiet and still.  So today, say around 8:00, Lashonda and I were gettin it down I75 and I started thinking about the three wise men.  Rumor has it (not Adele) that they finally got to see Jesus when he was about 2 years old.  Well, I thought about that and how they had to carry those gifts for a long time and probably answer a lot of questions along the way..."Dude, are you still looking for that baby King?"  "What's that?"  "Why don't you just give it up?"  Yes, I realize I am processing this through my English, first world brain, but stay with me...

So I thought about how we relate to the wise men...we have these gifts...some of us can sing, some people can work really hard, others can make things, some people can listen to the craziest people and still love them...there are so many gifts represented in just the people that I know...and we all journey.  None of us has "arrived."  We are still looking, still anticipating, still answering a whole lot of questions while we journey toward the King.  I'm so glad we're all in the same boat...that we journey together...that we have this amazing hope that we know we will bow before one day.  And more than that, I am so grateful that I get to see the gifts and sacrifices in use along the way.

So, what is your gift?  Your sacrifice?  Are you holding tightly to it, waiting until the day finally comes when you meet the King?  Or are you sharing it along the way?  If you walk toward the King, people will ask you some questions...what is your response?

God,
Thank you for the gifts that you give...
Thank you for the journey that you call us to.
Help us to walk,
Help us to share,
Help us to see the beauty of the journey,
The wealth of the gifts,
The King that we serve,
And the ways that we can bless.
Amen.