Driving Slowly

October 7, 2017

If my memory serves me correctly, (a dubitable hypothesis at best), Indian summer is that mild weather following the first frosts of Autumn. We had a mild frost about a week ago, so I guess technically we are in it. Either way, the mild weather is enjoyable. At 6:30 pm, Linda and I are sitting on the patio in shirtsleeves, talking and watching the leaves drift to the earth in lazy pirouettes, cat and dog lying contentedly by our sides.

Degree by degree, the thermometer descends as the sun sets, bringing a chill that soon will have me looking for a sweater, and perhaps even lighting a fire in the chiminea on the back deck. To look at us, we are the epitome of relaxed contentedness, but it has been a busy day and week. This is the first time we’ve relaxed in quite awhile. Contentment however, is alive and well within. Like any couple, we’ve experienced a few bumps in the road along the way, a couple even this past week that briefly made the wheels of contentment shimmy as we gripped the wheel a bit more firmly. 

We are at that stage in life where we know there are more miles behind us than before us, but the road has leveled out, and we drive a bit more slowly so as to enjoy the scenery along the way. Anyone who knows us realizes that I am speaking solely about the road of life. Enjoying the scenery in a literal drive is not one of Linda’s graces. She has however, many others that more than make up any impatience with a long drive. 

I’ve been thinking often about the road that lies ahead; what it will mean for one of us when the other has reached the end of the road. Neither of us can imagine what that will be like, despite having witnessed it in the lives of loved ones. And if we cannot imagine it, I don’t see how we can prepare for it, except by continually reaffirming our faith and confidence in our God who gives life to the lifeless and hope even in the night. But until that day comes, we sit side by side, content just to be in each other’s presence, thanking God for the gift he has given us for all these years. As the shadows lengthen, the cords of love that bind us together remain strong.