Is that the sound of Way opening...

...or are You just happy to see me?

God, I'm absolutely beholden and grateful to You. Thank you so much for all Your help. I don't know what we would have done if there had been a lot of snow. The very cold weather in Rochester -- 8 degrees at night with lots of wind is surely cold -- was a good reminder that You have "given orders to the morning, [and] shown the dawn its place " (Job 38:12). Still, I'm grateful that the little flurries here and there never amounted to much. It made it possible for me to get there in one day.

You gave my mom enough strength to get discharged from the hospital on Friday. And to feel a little better every day, so she and my sister could leave on Monday and make it up there by Tuesday!

And You arranged for one of the three moving companies we called to call us back -- on a Saturday -- for a Monday morning job! They were really helpful. And kind. Please be good to them, okay?

And You provided me with four hours to relax and sit calmly in the JFK airport on Monday. It was a fine opportunity to finish Brian McLaren's Everything Must Change -- fabulous book, I'd love to tell You about it some time! -- and Douglas Gwyn's Apocalypse of the Word. It was also a fine opportunity to see some of Your humanity parade by -- the other passengers, the flight crews, the ground crews, the wheelchair attendants. And a few cute little pets in carriers. And of all the charming but tired children, none of them were mine -- thank You, and thanks to Robin M. for enabling that to happen.

You also sent Your friend Marcus to help me at the jetBlue ticket counter. He spent nearly 45 minutes helping me! He made sure that my seat on the later flight was still there even as the chances of going standby on the earlier flight were evaporating. (As You'll recall, the wet weather You sent to SFO yesterday was a real reminder to everyone just Who is in charge, and it's not always the FAA!) Marcus even went down to the baggage area to make sure my suitcase had been checked through all the way from ROC to SFO. I was so grateful I asked to fill out a comment card; he suggested I call the airline's main number. Well, they didn't know what to do! They put me on hold for a while, then took my comment. I guess they're a lot more used to people calling to complain. (Thank You for giving me the idea to express my gratitude to other people and not just to You!)

Finally, I really appreciated Your sense of humor and fabulous timing as I got onto I-195 in New Jersey at the start of driving the rental truck to Rochester. I had been thinking before the trip that I would like to listen to some bluegrass gospel on the way there. The truck even had a CD player, but I didn't have any of my CD's! And it's not what my mother listens to.

Well, You just had to show You care! I found some bluegrass on WBJB, Lincroft, a station I'd never even heard of before, even though I grew up as a rabid radio listener in NJ, and a DJ myself for a few years. There it was, Bluegrass Jam! And then the DJ played a set of bluegrass gospel, for the elderly and shut-in on Sunday, who couldn't get out to church. Well, it was for the rental truck drivers who couldn't take time out for meetin' for worship, too! Thank you, WBJB, and thank YOU. The journey wouldn't be the same without You.