On The Road to Emmaus

“And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.” Luke 24: 15

This Bible story of disciples meeting Jesus after His resurrection has always been special to me. When a small child, I liked to think as I walked along a forest path that I too would find Jesus waiting for me in the shady shadows. I always looked for Him.

As I matured, I realized that He did come to me many times during the day. I only realized it if I was attuned to His presence. The older I got, the more harried my life, the more jaded and impatient I became. Over time, I lost the sound of the still small voice that directed me to Him.

I decided to start this blog one day when I was feeling overwhelmed by the Covid infection’s destruction, the incessant blather of politics, and the willful indifference and sometimes downright cruelty of men and women toward their fellows. I was angrily taking a shopping cart that someone had left in the parking lot to the corral (as I usually did when at the grocery store) when I was smothered by a cloud of despair. After all, how hard was it for the shopper who’d used it to place it in the corral where it belonged? Leaving it free in the parking lot was a hazard to the rest of us. Why didn’t they care?

Suddenly, right then, in the parking lot of our local Safeway, I decided to let go of the bad experience and find the good. So I thanked God for the sunlight that warmed the winter morning. I noticed the bird calls in the bare trees and gave Him praise. I gave thanks for the groceries in the store and the legal tender I possessed to exchange for them. I was walking into the store using my own two legs. My mind was flooded with examples.

I pondered the ease with which I had fallen into gloom, and how quickly finding God’s blessings lifted me out of it.

Therefore, I decided to focus this weekly blog on blessings. I pledge to find the sparkle in the mundane, the joy in the ordinary. I am inviting you to come with me and do the same.

This site will not tolerate foul language or bullying in any of its many forms. We are here to celebrate our blessings, not find faults. We will all attend to the log in our own eye before complaining about the splinter in our neighbor’s eye.

Come with me now on the road to Emmaus. Come and celebrate the walk with our Lord.

Dear God, now in this season of blessings, we come to You with full hearts. All of us have unmet needs, Lord. Some of us have small needs. Many of us have dire needs. Please, Lord Jesus, come and walk beside all of us. Lead us by Your example, and help us focus on Your light and not the darkness in the world around us. Amen