Cast upon a stormy night of forgotten dreams and delusions of grandeur, he
felt lost and, indeed was. Alone, so alone he felt part of an overwhelming
universe; a universe as big as the sea to a grain of sand, and yet as small as
a second in the span of time.
The night was cold, not a bitter cold, but cold enough to one barefoot with
only shorts and a T-shirt, to threaten certain sickness. Lost, alone, cold, and
almost naked, he felt like a refugee from a lost nation. But he was happy. So
happy and confident that neither despair or loneliness or cold could deter him
from his quest, his goal, and his desire to do what needed to be done. Of
course he had no idea what that was, but that was fine. He knew when the time
came he would respond and the deed would be accomplished, and all would be well
once again.
It was somewhere in Texas, probably about halfway to Austin from the
Louisiana border. He was hitch-hiking at about two in the morning. People had a
hard time seeing him so he was using a toy gun that made sparks when you pulled
the trigger. He had bought this toy with some money a nice man had given him
for some food. Of course, he did eat with it too, but at this stage of
wanderment he could live on a half of cheeseburger and a few french-fries, more
than easy pickens at the fine restaurants that dotted the hi-ways. As expected,
his prop gained notoriety, but not necessarily by whom he wanted. A hi-way
patrolman pulled up behind him and immediately turned on his shiny blue lights.
The officer climbed out of his car, dressed in a snug lined leather jacket.
Having been told over his radio that someone was on the expressway with a gun he
was taking no chances and had his revolver at the ready. But his natural
instincts and training told him that guns don't spark as he had seen a few
seconds earlier after passing his quarry on the opposite side of the road.
Instead he thought he was pursuing a suspect with an uncanny nature, an
overwhelming personality, a marvelous sense of humor, yes, he was after another
frickin lunatic.
And so the story began as if foretold in some other time, some other place, and
some other state...of wanderment. (To be continued)
(c) Bryan A. Stross 9/12/2008 revised 11/26/2017
Revelations: 1st Peter Chapter 2, the short book of Jude, and the 2nd
Epistle of John.
Glory Be to God in the Highest for Jesus Christ is Our Lord and Savior, this
day, past days and forever more. AMEN
Continued July 2nd, 2023, Sunday 5:40 AM EST
The above opening scene is a true episode from around 1984 or so...I was 23 years old searching for my way in life. I do not obviously have the officers name, but I'm sure he still has this memory of our encounter as well. He approached me and I had already holstered (so to speak) my toy prop pistol. He asked me a couple questions, I showed him my toy prop and he chuckled after seeing the translucent light green sparking pistol, as it started to rain. I explained to him I was really just using it like a flashlight to get passing drivers attention, as the rain fell harder, now dripping off his brimmed & starched western style hat. Again, he chuckled standing a good six inches taller than me, without the cowboy hat and said, "Well you got someone's attention all right, that was the Chief of Police that drove by and seen you a bit ago. You know it's starting to rain pretty hard; you want a ride somewhere?"
Again, this was 1984 when it was much safer to be a lone hitch hiker on the by ways of America. In the years since the time I was 16 and left home, until I was in my mid to late twenties & finally settled back in Florida for a bit, I only had a couple of instances where folks tried to take advantage of what they perceived was an aimless drifter. Little did they know there was purpose to my walk.
But for every single bad memory I have of those days, I have ten good ones to put things in proper perspectives. This episode with a deputy sheriff encouraged me. It strengthened my belief in the goodness of the United States of America and all we stand for. Sadly, in the forty years since this time in my life our country has changed. Not only are the drifters afraid of the passersby...the passersby are leery of the drifters. This sets the stage for an antagonistic exchange rather than a pleasant one like I had years ago in the Northeastern area of Texas on the interstate chasing dreams I had yet to have.
It is now just after 7 AM. The message today on the Lutheran Hour, that as you know I listen to on 95.7FM "The Ride" out of Hickory, North Carolina was on searching & finding yourself. Pastor Haberstein of Canada was the guest speaker for Dr. Ziegler. His message was..." to find yourself you must first lose yourself, but not just lose yourself, lose yourself to Christ first, then you can start on the path to finding your true self." Perfect message for not only us individually, but more importantly for our two countries. The United States celebrating our 247th year of Independence this Tuesday & Canada just having their 150th year of Confederacy (interesting choice of words to celebrate). That is almost 400 years of history.
A history that in my opinion is filled with far..far more good than bad. Many more triumphs than defeats. If you want to continually dredge up the pits of history...please don't leave out the sweet cherries that produced those pits. Too many folks want to keep us in the dark by litterly & figuratively shutting off the light that burns inside all of us that follow the Faith, so that it becomes your reality.
Don't let that happen America. We are too good for that. We have struggling brothers & sisters to our South that are being misled by an administration bent on breaking the will of the America's rather than preserving & encouraging its' prosperity. The Faithful in the America's far outweighs the confused.
Do not be confused by the news of the day. Rather, concentrate on your own path. A path of righteousness & faith. Dr. Haberstein referenced Matthew Chapter 10. In this Chapter Jesus sends out His Disciples. His hand-picked Twelve to carry on His Teachings & Life Story. Read Chapter 10 closely and you will realize that yes all that follow the Faith are His disciples...but these Twelve had special instructions and abilities gifted to them variously by the Grace of God. I read Matthew 10 and tearful memories flood my mind, but I am comforted by Jesus's closing Words.
Matthew 10:40-42...verse 42..."And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." (New Living Translation, Tyndale Trust 1996). And as Pastor Garrett messaged today at Church, these 12 spread the words & ways of Jesus with others who shared & soon 12 became 144, then 14,400, to 144,000 & beyond.
As part of my morning routines, I read the daily message from "Our Daily Bread" here's a pic of todays with some sayings of Agur found in Proverbs. It references Psalm 62:8 "God is our Refuge" & He truly is. In those days of searching that our documented in the pages of this blog I cannot deny He was with me every step of the way, just as He is with you. We cannot question it to a point of insanity, because it has been the cause of many a disillusioned soul. We can only pray for their spirit, that it will find its way in this world, because that's what we were all meant to do. We are oh so fortunate to have a strong a Faithful Foundation to work from. I have said that this is not always the case & it certainly isn't.
In my dreams & in my own life's search I have been blessed with answers to questions that have puzzled me since my early teens. Many of these answers took years to realize & as we all know, what you know today is based on yesterday's lesson, but what you know tomorrow has yet to be learned.
As I share thoughts on this blog, I realize much of them I've already shared...& if not my words or actions than those of many, many others. So, I thank you for your time in reading my message for today...if nothing else it's a message of having Faith in God to fulfill His Promise's as He has done in the past, continues to do in the present & will certainly do in our current future.... AMEN
Matthew 12: 48-50. 🐝🐏🦬
