Who then is my neighbor?

In this journey of mine, it seems at times that I have gone great lengths of time (perhaps distance as well) without the benefit of confirmation that I am still moving in the right direction, or if I am moving at all.

I'm not at all sure why God allows this. Perhaps it is to test, teach or train, I cannot know. What I do know is that it becomes a discouraging way to travel and those who travel with me can offer encouragement but not certainty.

The landscape seems not to change for great stretches, without markers or signs, and every rest stop seems to serve only as a reminder that I need to keep moving toward my destination, whatever that may be.

Sometimes though, along the way I encounter travelers that serve as certainty, strength and encouragement about my direction. They lighten the load by helping to shoulder the burdens I bear.

At times simply by listening, sometimes by speaking as well, but always with grace, compassion and with a level of generosity that is humbling. They have always been good to offer encouragement from insight, rather than the discouragement of mere judgment.

They can seem few and far between, but they exist and in greater number than I would have expected, and in the most unlikely of people.

They let me know, by virtue of their own wisdom and experience that the road less travelled, the narrow path I travel, is none the less a road that can and should be travelled for the destination is well worth the obstacles that must be overcome in forging it.

It is only by God's grace in sending these travelers my direction, or perhaps sending me in theirs, that I have been able to continue on, for I am not by my own means a strong man in many respects.

This has been the voice of Christmas past, this Christmas past, and were it not for God's faithful elect, Christmas would not have looked at all as children should expect it to be.

Thank you, to so many of you who have travelled with me and been my strength in times of weakness. You have been the reminder of the higher calling. A resource in times of poverty and have served to make the seemingly impossible a reality.
I am truly humbled beyond words once more.

However long we may travel together, wherever the road may take you, God's blessings to you and yours in your journeys.

db