Driving Under the Influence

I drink and drive. My car is like a pub on wheels. Getting behind the wheel is like sitting at the bar with an old friend. Pushing in a great CD, the lyrics and rythym enfold me and I drink...from the Spirit...the one Spirit that we were all given to drink. In these moments, my vehicle becomes a meeting place, a space of sweet communion between my God and I. Sometimes I arrive at my destination and I delay getting out because the air is so warm, the music so poignant, and His presence so tangible.

I'm going to miss my mobile chapel once I'm back in Bolivia. In four days, Bolivian soil will be under my feet again. Person after person will ask if I am looking forward to going "home" and then they stop, unsure whether I consider Canada or Bolivia my home. My home is in Christ. Words from 'Our Daily Bread' echoed this sentiment last night at dinner, "...We can be at home in any dwelling, for our safekeeping lies not in the place where we live but in God Himself. We can dwell "in the secret place of the Most High" and "abide under the shadow of the Almighty". There, in His presence, under his wings, we find refuge. The eternal God becomes our dwelling place. (ODB, January 4, 2007). My abode defies place and country. It can not be pin pointed on a map. Home is a sense of belonging within that springs from the shelter of almighty wings.

My love for Canada, my family, and friends is huge, but I feel good about returning to South America. I love to travel and suffer from a constant itch to change the scenery. Perhaps this is why I derive so much pleasure from driving. The scenes vary from road to road but there is a sentiment of constancy and familiarity that comes with the journey. The music goes on and God is the same inside and outside the borders we've made.