One Year Ago
Oct 8th, 2009 by Lyn Hanush
October 7, 2008 - Tuesday
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.
