Dear Traveler,

Welcome to your journey. The road is wide and vast and you are on it. Already. From the moment you took your first breath you placed the soles of your feet on the road.

Somedays you will love it, you will skip and you will be so glad you can run down it. You will feel free, as you look around and feel grateful for all the other travelers. They laugh with you, they make the journey easier.

Other days you will hate it. The weather will be bitter and cold and the wind will whip around your face. No one will smile or make eye contact. You will be alone, trudging up hill, and you will see no end in sight.

Somedays will fly by. You will be amazed at how far you’ve walked. You wish time would slow down so you could taste more of the fresh air and watch the sunset just a little longer.

Other days will drag on and on. Time will slow down and you will long to lay down on the asphalt and close your eyes and sleep forever.

You will hear a lot of stories on the road, some will fill your heart with hope, some will stop your heart with grief…and you will learn that everyone has their own pace and their own journey.

People will leave you. And you will feel completely alone. And scared, and will not know how you can ever walk again.

You will meet good people. People who will gather you to them, and talk you through just one more step. Who will carry your stuff and give you water. Who will brush the sweat from your brow and tell you are beautiful when you know you hold no beauty in your eyes that day. They will give, knowing you have nothing to exchange in return.

You will meet Evil. People who only want to hurt. People who are driven by harm. They will try to push you off the road, their rage is their guide. And you will have to remain vigilant and move beyond their grasp. They will tell you, you are beautiful, and then show you your ugliness. They will take and leave you stranded.

And you will become. You will make choices and take shortcuts, and sometimes will be unsure of where exactly you are. But eventually you will end up…here.

You are here.

Hello Traveler.

This road is wide open, but you have never been alone. You have tried to run ahead. And have woken up in the dark, to leave before the sunlight hits the road to make your own way.

But I have still been there.

Just in case.

You make your pace. You make your path.

But I still stay close.

Just in case.

And you will stumble. But you will get back up.

And you will scream into the sky. But the wind will billow around you and bring you a breeze, and whisper what I have been saying since the day you started your walk.

I am close by…

I am here.

Close your eyes and lean into me…I know the way, my precious Traveler.

You are here. And I am too.

“We walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

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