Chapter One: A Bend in the Road
The first step of my Substack journey
Dear Readers,
This post was originally published on November 3, 2024
It has been edited and reformatted.
It is Chapter One of “My Substack Journey.”
“Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10
Hello Friends,
Welcome to my Substack. I am here to write about a bend in the road.
My husband and I have worked for our church for over 25 years. Together, we managed the church’s 2,200 square-foot bookstore and an attached café which seats 100 people.
Although these jobs were full-time positions, we rarely worked just 40 hours weekly. There were many, many weeks that we put in 50-60 hours. But we didn’t mind.
Those two businesses were our passion.
Imagine being able to use every one of your God-given talents to bless, feed and minister to hundreds of people each week.
What an incredible privilege.
The icing on the cake was, we got to work side by side. We were each able to assist the other with ideas, encouragement and on the spot prayer. It was both glorious and fulfilling.
All that ends tomorrow.
My husband has been laid off and my hours have been cut by forty percent.
Though the precise timeline is unclear, the bookstore and the café are essentially on hospice.
Boy, does life hurt sometimes.
As my husband’s final day of work approaches, the sadness is sometimes overwhelming. I often feel grief taking hold of me, dragging me down through her harrowing depths the way an alligator grips its prey.
Fitful sleep, exhaustion, spontaneous crying spells, and an endless parade of nagging ‘whys’ haunt me.
Still, life goes on, and last Saturday, I harnessed my senses long enough to sit down and pay the electric bill.
Since I haven’t yet set a wallpaper on my new laptop, when I log in, I see a randomized Getty image of something in nature, like Holland tulips or the Rock of Gibraltar.
But Saturday’s photo of Japan’s Arashiyama Bamboo Grove took my breath away.
In an instant I was captivated by the lush, green stalks that towered over the grove’s extensive path. Each bamboo stalk was delicate, yet with a definite sense of strength, much like the long, elegant neck of a Masai giraffe.
Why had I logged into my computer in the first place? I had forgotten.
I was swept away by the rich beauty of this grove.
It was love at first sight. I had to know everything about this place. Google treated me to a decadent trove of photos.
My brain was bathed in dopamine as it mentally cataloged the Grove’s many shades of green.
Life had opened a fresh box of crayons culled from a rainbow made solely of greens; inchworm green, mountain meadow, fern, rainforest green, light green, leafy green, and, well, just green.
One particular photo showcased the start of the grove’s long, inviting walking path whose sides were enveloped by an endless dominance of tall bamboo stalks.
I imagined myself walking slowly and intently, down that long extravagant path; lost in its beauty, thanking God for such a wondrous journey.
Then something in the photo woke me from my daydream.
This path had no end, only a bend.
I gasped.
Looking at that beautiful bend, a wave of peace washed over me. I felt that alligator release me from its grip as grief gave way to hope.
Then I heard the Lord whisper to my heart.
The path is not ending; only bending, and the best is yet to come.
The Bible tells us that the Lord’s thoughts are higher than ours and His ways are past finding out.
For 25 years, I assumed that my path was set. It was straight and smooth, and I had a sure destination.
As time went on, I put one foot in front of the other, stepping my way towards heaven.
But God had placed a bend in my road.
He knew that bend would shock me.
He knew that bend would test me.
He also knew that when He offered His hand to guide me, I wouldn’t hesitate to grab hold and buckle up for the ride of my life.
What a comfort to know that He is close to the broken hearted and sees us all the way through right to the other side of every trial.
He sees the ending, holds us close through the mending and tenderly shepherds us around the bending.
This Substack is my first glimpse of what’s around that bend.
I hope to have weekly entries, filled with humor, wit and wisdom.
Consider this inaugural post your wordy Welcome mat.
Please let me know if you’ve been around the bend and what you found there.
I love this. The bends really are real — the deep peaks, the sudden valleys. But yes… it’s the climb. Somewhere along the way, all those “shifts” stopped feeling like separate chapters and became one long road with a handful of magnificent detours. That’s where the best stories are, anyway. Thank you for sharing 😊