Four Legs or Four Wheels

I am learning there is more than one way to travel through life. Why take the easy way when there is adventure around every corner? While we were in LA (Lower Alabama), our friends invited us to experience a bit of the local culture. The choices were to go horseback riding or ride through the woods on a four-wheeler ATV. My adventurous husband immediately chose to experience all the thrills and smells of a snorting horse. My more sedate lifestyle, as well as allergies to animal dander and hay, sent me running in the opposite direction to the vehicle with four wheels closer to the ground.  

While Charles was gently trotting around the horse track at a leisurely pace, I calmly mounted the passenger seat behind my friend, Erin. The next thing I knew we were flying over ruts and puddles, and dodging low hanging tree branches. I didn’t know I would be the one riding a bucking bronco on four wheels. Look closely and you can see Erin’s hair flying as we sped through the gate toward the finish line. I let go of her jacket long enough to show off for the camera.

 

Isn’t life like that? The things we fear usually give us the least trouble. Then, the things we don’t think about being a problem rise up and present us with a challenge. This roller coaster we call “Life” is full of many twists and turns which we call “life stressors.” I am the first to admit I am not the best person to handle stress. Research on aging tells us the ability to handle stress in a healthy manner contributes to longevity. When I am thrown a curve ball I have to constantly rely on God’s presence in my life so that I will not fret and worry about things that I can' t control.

 Good advice for all of us as we ride through life.

Hoggin' & Boggin' & Bloggin'

I’ve been told an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), water, and lots of dirt and mud are necessary for a fun filled hoggin' & boggin' adventure. Charles & I had no intention of goin' hoggin' & boggin' when we went to South Alabama to speak to the folks at Spring Hill Baptist Church.  We were there as guests of our friends, Donnie & Erin Moss and Erin’s parents, Pastor Jim and Karen O’Neal.

Because I’m allergic to the animals at Erin’s family home, we were invited by the Turners to stay in their guest cabin on several acres in the middle of the forest. Susan Turner took the lead and we followed her truck between the trees to the cabin. She left us to get settled with instructions about where to meet everyone for dinner. All the trees and paths looked the same as we tried to find our way back to the main road so we kept trying different routes.

The next thing we knew, we were up to our tires spinning in mud and muck. With only one bar on my cellphone (thank you, Verizon), I was able to call Susan. I prayed while Charles braved the swampy ground and walked back to the main road to flag down her truck. The water on my side of my car was too deep for walking, so I peeled off my shoes, socks, rolled up my pants’ legs, crawled over the center console and out the driver’s side, and mushed my way back to her truck. My bare feet and legs were covered with the brown ooze. City slicker me said, “We need to call a towing company.”

Since Susan and her husband own a logging company, she assured us they would be able to get us out. I stayed high and dry at the restaurant while Charles and some of the locals rounded up trucks and chains to pull my pretty, red SUV out of the mud. The first truck that came to the rescue also got stuck in the mud. As it tried to spin its way to freedom, the truck sent a brown shower of mud all over my car. Finally, a Jeep with a winch succeeded in pulling out the truck and my mud-coated SUV.

Three car washes later, most of the mud is gone from the exterior and interior of the car, but the memories linger. When I saw this sign on the road in Chatom, I realized our latest adventure would make a great blog post. Now, nobody can accuse these two late bloomers of being “sticks in the mud.”