MILEAGE THAT MATTERS...***CHECK ENGINE***

How long is YOUR commute? What percentage of YOUR day has you mobile? Do YOUR feet carry YOU, or do you carry YOUR feet? Rolling chair or stationary? ...and your wheels 2,4,10,or 18? When are YOU spent and on what did YOU spend? Who gets the best part of YOUR day, YOU at YOUR best? Tell me about your mileage, does it work YOU or do YOU work it? Is that pesky little light on again? The one that reads, "CHECK ENGINE." ...and your odometer is it set with numbers in view or percent? Do you even know how long you have till EMPTY? Texting again? Maybe your brain doesn't function like mine, that being all over the place and random, but let me ask you this, do YOU make your mileage count? Does it work for YOU? ONE can make a difference...ONE can leave a mark. I can choose to go into work anywhere from 5:30 to 7:30. After 7:30, my contract kind of makes the choice for me. Some days I drive in complete silence but 98% of the time I drive with one song playing on REPEAT in the background as I pray...as I talk to my Daddy in Heaven, my Father, the creator of the Universe. I have His full attention..wrap your mind around that one. Ever picture how small you are on a globe with winding roads, oceans, mountains, and slums? I do. "Fly" plays as I tithe...the first of my day to Him. My best friend wrote it, and it has empowered my every day. I know the story behind it, but not my story to tell. I know how she was feeling because I ask those things and listen to her heart. My circumstances determine how I listen and how I pray...whether I do all the talking as it plays or in silence, "Spirit have your way in me" is the cry of my heart. ...and sometimes on days like today when I put my car in park synchronized breathing happens and it gives me chills at the close of the song. Some people are all talk, looking for reward or acknowledgment of some sort...not this girl. My favorite artist hands down..beautiful inside and out. Always the IN that stands out. My day empowered like grace. The lyrics within, my every desire found...MY story, yet not one word did I write. Talented an understatement. Just listen as I type out the blueprint of a daughter's heart..not word for word but in part. Hebrews 12:1-3...He alone is life! "Father let me gaze on you, when my heart has not the words. When a burden falls on me, you're the one I want to see." "Father let me cling to you, when worry rears it's ugly head." "Let your peace within me DWELL." "Father let me cry to you, when my sin entangles me" "I find mercy when I'm at your feet." "Father let me rest in you. EVERY MORNING seek your face!" "Like a brilliant beaming light. Burn in me your holy flame. Ignite in me your holy flame Oh, burn in me your holy flame." "Father let me sing to you, a song that echos through the storm. Like incense may it rise above, an offering before your throne." "Father let me fly to you, when my breath on Earth is done. Wrap me in your loving arms. The fight is fought, the race is won." So we talk, my God and I. I ask Him to fix my eyes on Him..and leave me speechless. Every worry laid out before Him, acknowledging who goes before me. His peace it takes up residence in me, like manna to return for every tomorrow. Resting in who I seek...a brilliant beaming light desiring to radiate my giddy in Him to all who cross my path, He burns... a passionate flame, a jealous fire none can snuff out. Mercy found in purposeful posture...raised hands, bowed head cannot touch THIS rawness. Pain in your knees as you bend does not carry the same surrender of "Envelop me" face flat swimming in murky waters fallen from flesh. Facing every storm no matter how the gage may read, I offer my life like a decision made long ago...and ask that God help me TO FINISH STRONG. Depressing? Nope, refreshing! I walk into my classroom and I play "Beautiful Feet" (Isaiah 52:7) looking out at the fields (each desk playing a vital role in the design of 3 wings) and sometimes I work in silence and sometimes I pray for each life before warm bodies arrive. My mileage...now on foot. The song empowers my day as I am reminded once again why I must live ON PURPOSE and FINISH STRONG. I turn on my CD player and the birds play reminding me not to worry (Matthew 6:26) AND now looking ahead to the places I will be carried my plane on foot, and who knows how many homemade vehicles on the World Race...I smile at the mileage. 11 months 11 countries...leaving all behind. Wondering if I will serve in community or also with my husband by my side. Eager to arrive but fully present. And when I return without contract, will I dive head first, hands like a steeple into writing, photography, work for Compassion International, or find my way back to a soil known...one thing for sure, always a teacher of someone and a student in unison. At the end of the day, I'm thankful for my commute, the songs that empower, and for the receiving end of my tithe. Destination determined...I drive for the journey and make my mileage count. A few months back, a favorite book of poetry placed in my treasure chest, and haven't stopped writing since...GRATEFUL to the GIVER living in my heart and home. Correction, HOME. ***CHECK ENGINE***