Out of Texas

Sunday, March 4 ~ I-10 near El Paso, Texas


The push to come to Texas was so strong, it's hard to believe my "mission" here (whatever it was) has been accomplished.

In fact, when I woke yesterday morning in Alpine and heard the voice of Spirit state unequivocally, "You're done in Texas," I was surprised and annoyed.

"Done?" I asked. "But what did I do?"

No answer...a reminder that we needn't always know the reason, needn't always have an explanation, needn't always do much other than trust and surrender.

Yet just because we don't need to doesn't mean we don't want to.

Two years ago, on my first visit to Madison, Wisconsin, I found myself on a frustrating, cross-town odyssey as I searched for a place to spend the night. I drove for over an hour, looking at different motels, never finding myself satisfied.

Finally, after checking into a Microtel, I looked at the city map and realized that I had just driven three concentric circles around Madison, starting with several loops around the state Capitol.

I had always suspected that my seemingly random journeying was purposeful, that I was unconsciously carrying out some form of earthwork, gridwork and lightwork. I had suspected it, but was still skeptical.

A large chunk of my skepticism dissolved that day.

Yet I feel some of that same skepticism today as I prepare (I think) to leave Texas. I wonder why, after so much drama, I'll have spent only three nights in a small corner of this huge state.

As I did in Madison, I stop to look at a map. My finger traces my Texas travels...

East from El Paso along Rte 62-180 to Guadalupe Mountains National Park.


South on Rtes 54 and 90 through Van Horn and Marfa to Alpine.


North to Fort Davis and Kent.


West along I-10 to Van Horn (where I spent last night's lunar eclipse) and back to El Paso.


What my finger has traced is an infinity symbol!

I don't know what that means. But I know it's no accident that my travels have carried me along the roads that created that pattern. I know, too, that all I can do in every moment is trust God's GPS to guide me along the highest path -- be it a a physical highway or spiritual one.

Photos by Mark David Gerson: #1 Guadalupe Mountains National Park; #2 Twin Peaks, near Alpine, TX; #3 McDonald Observatory, near Fort Davis, TX; #4 Lunar Eclipse over Van Horn, TX