My Walk Home

"Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content."
1 Timothy 6: 6-8 New Living Translation

One of my Facebook friends recently asked me where I would go on a mental vacation. She would go to London and shop with her 3 best friends. And for sure that sounds very appealing to me as well. But I captured my immediate thought as the question was asked, and found out something about myself that was quite heartening to me.

You see, Tuesday was a beautiful day in the Edmonton area. It was probably 65 degrees outside and there was a slight breeze. It was the first day of the new transit schedule that results in me not even having to transfer between buses on my commute from my new home in St. Albert and my office in downtown Edmonton. So, I sat in one of the raised seats on the double bus I was on and a few windows were open -- the soft breeze felt simply delicious on my skin. I know there was a glow of happiness about me right then.

I exited the bus a block from my apartment building and began walking down the road that leads to my home. A super-awareness came over me as I noticed the lush green trees and bushes that lined the street. A few of the trees on my right as I walked had beautiful orangish red berries in them that I could see gently swaying. There was a pretty rustic wood fence that appeared as well. The skies were blue with faint wisps of white appearing every now and again. There was the sound of birds and perhaps a dog barking in the distance, or perhaps it was a bit of laughter floating on the wind from the nearby high school.

As I walked down that little stretch of just one block, it seemed to me as if time suddenly stood still. Right then, it seemed like the longest, most enjoyable walk of my life. I slowed my pace to a languid stroll, and as I enjoyed my walk, absorbing the sights and sounds and smells, and as I yet thought of all going on in my life, I thought, "there is no place I would rather be than right here."

Thank you, God, for providing me a fairy-tale walk to my new home in a very real world!