Let the journey begin

Did you miss me?

I thought not.

Yesterday Mary and I were in the woods. We spent the greater part of the day listening to the tap, tap, tap of rain drops diving bombing the trailer. Well, the tap, tap, tap sounded more like boom, boom, boom but you get the picture. We were going under. So when there was a moment in which the drops didn't fall, or at least when they weren't being blown by the wind, we scooped up everything, stuck it somewhere under the rainbow and we skee-dadled out of Percy Quinn State Park. We were supposed to come home today, but we -- did I mention -- skee-dadled, which is the Hebrew for got the heck out of Dodge, which is the Latin for Status Quo which is the Greek for themesswe'rein.

It was a messy, messy day. Rain fell most of it. The dogs were terrified most of the day, what with wind pushing and pulling the rain and the dogs refusing to be a part of any of that.

It began cool and got warmer as time passed, though it was dark most of the day. All in all, it was a mess, which was the Greek for upacreekwithoutapaddle.

But we pressed on. We read for much of the day, while the day progressed toward Daylight Saving at a rapid, dark rate.

When we got the opportunity, we skee-dadled, or have I said that previously? My mind is soggy, as it were, what with dogs screeching discomfort and looking at me every second they weren't looking above my head toward the sky. There definitely wasn't music playing above my head. There was thunder and the rapid flash of lightning and the occasional rumbling,tumbling popping. It was skee-dadling weather, and that's never good.

Today begins our 40-day rush toward Easter. Forty days of pondering what we've done to deserve God's grace. Forty days to wonder why God loves us so much we let him accomplish the magnificent while we set out to wash the unwashable. Our sins, weighing us down at every turn, are very heavy indeed, brother or no brother, and we are in search of something or someone who can measure the unmeasurabe and see the unseeable and clean the uncleanable. God enters our lives duty bound in a way. He comes into our lives at a point that is unsafe for us; it's a point that is near death, near a point where we are remarkably near death, and yet He comes to not prevent death but to embrace it. He arms us with grace, that inexplicable substance only He can give, and we are forewarned and forearmed and for-given, and for the rest of our lives, long or short, we are cleaned and we are inexplicably saved.

It does not matter if it is 40 days or an eternity at that point. God has saved us. Bloody garments are white as snow. Forever.

Today we begin our death march to the cross. Jesus did so by "setting his face" on Jerusalem. We do it by setting our faces on Jerusalem. The paths will cross beneath the cross, and we will be set free indeed.

Oh, let the bells begin to ring, let the music began to play, let the choirs begin to sing. Jesus will cross the arenas.

We are free, set free by the Christ.