The Great American Journey

GAP WALK JOURNALS - VIII

Tuesday - October 7,  2008    Day 216   11.5  miles

Total Maryland miles - 35.8        Walking Days - 101

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6   Cumulative miles 1767.6

What a day we had. I know, I say that or something similar a lot,
but it’s true. What can I say??

After pre-driving some of our route last Thursday I was a bit
concerned about certain portions of it with absolutely no place
to walk - no shoulders right up against hillsides, and heavy
traffic. At first I saw no way around it without going a very
round-about route.

After much thought and prayer, as well as prayers by some of
you, I began looking at the wonderful Maryland map we have.
On the Baltimore inset I noticed it included the area I was
concerned about - at least a portion of it. It was enough to give
me some different roads to start with.

So this morning when Bonny and I headed out to review the
route for today, we took time to change the last couple of miles
so they would meet up with the portion I was looking at. Of
course, we needed to pre-drive enough of the next day’s route to
be sure it would all work together well. The first couple of
choices didn’t work too well, so Bonny and I were both praying
as I looked at the map, and suddenly I saw it.

Off we went to drive this route, and it worked!  It may add a
little bit, but I don’t think it will be too much. Now I needed to
get busy with today’s walk - oh, dear, almost noon. Soon I
would realize that, as usual when I get a late start, God had
some divine encounters for us.

Bonny met me first at WaWa for a short break. Soon after I
started walking again  Bonny stopped  because she was trying to
get her new trac-phone working with the headset so she could
talk to me while she’s driving if needed. As we stood by the side
of the road trying to figure out why she couldn’t hear me with
her phone, a man walked up and asked if we needed directions
to someplace. We explained what we were doing, both with the
walk and with the phone.

Dwayne told us he walks all over, and shared with us some of
the places he has walked. Many of them we had never heard of
since they are places in Maryland, and neither of us are from
here. Dwayne has a lot of medical problems, and we were able
to pray with him before we said our good-byes.

I headed on down the road, up and down hills at this point. Soon
I came to a cute little house where a lady was standing outside.
She saw me and we greeted each other. Then Joyce asked where
I was walking from. I explained my journey, and she called her
niece, Becky,  out. As I explained it more fully to them, Eva also
came out. Eva is Becky’s mom and Joyce’s sister. Then there
was Hunter, Becky’s darling little boy.

I talked with these ladies for quite awhile. They got their camera
and took a picture of me, and I took a picture of them. I got a
separate picture of Hunter as well. They were so delightful. We
had a time of prayer together, praying especially for some
medical needs of one of the women. We parted with hugs - even
Hunter gave me a hug.

As I walked on through a forested area with a few leaves
beginning to turn color, I felt free as a bird. My legs were
moving swiftly, and I was enjoying the blessing of God and the
privilege of being out there walking and praying for our country.

After awhile I came to the second WaWa on our route. I stopped
for a restroom, then we filled the van with gas at WaWa’s low
price. The next section was a new section that we had routed out
this morning. For the comfort of both of us we decided to drive
this short section once again. Actually we drove it two more
times, then went back so I could start walking it. Bonny drove
on to meet me at our third WaWa of the day.

This portion of the walk was another beautiful section. It ended
with walking through the historical town of Bel Air with it’s
unique beauty. A Castle-like building was home to the Army
National Guard. It was a pleasure to walk Main Street through
this town. Finally I turned my final turn and saw the WaWa
where I would end the day.

I spotted Bonny, and went to the van to get my gear off before
going inside the WaWa to get a snack of crackers, grapes and
white cheddar cheese in one of their great packets. WaWa sells a
variety of foods, some at the deli, and some pre-packaged and
displayed for purchase.

Next we headed off to drive back to the motel via a Starbucks
that Bonny spotted this morning - boy do I have my drivers
trained. We also stopped by a grocery store to pick up
bananas and peanut butter, then home (our motel) to get cleaned
up, eat dinner, do our computer work, and watch the presidential
debate - with a lot of prayer.

I do hope each of you are praying about the upcoming elections.
Pray for the candidates; pray for the voters (including yourself);
pray that God will clearly show us who to vote for. Don’t come
to God with your candidate and ask God to agree with you.
Rather, come to God with an open mind and an open heart, and
agree with God to vote for the person of His choice.

May God bless each one of you.