I had a rough morning.
Last night after a late meeting, I just couldn't get my brain to turn off and the coffee I drank so close to pumpkin time wasn't helping. My 3 year old son was having trouble sleeping, too, so I was up and down getting medicine and an ice pack for a vague assortment of pains ranging from his leg to the crown of his head.
This morning I woke up to three boys crowding the bed for an over-loud PBS show of some sort while Sandy went out for an early day of shopping at Krazy Days. The K means it is extra crazy, fortunately "days" doesn't end in a Z, that would be too much crazy to handle today.
When she got home and I got ready to head into the office, I knew my brain would not be up to the task, so I decided to take a detour. I headed south out of town and took what is called the Sumner Road off to the east. I'd driven it once before on a quest to hunt turkeys. As per usual, that expedition ended with me short a few shells but without any turkeys.
The Sumner road is a narrow, paved, county road and I am pretty sure the sign said it was 11 miles to Sumner. The plan was to enjoy the scenery, clear my brain, spit stale sunflower seeds into an old pop can, and check out this little town after an 11 mile drive. It is not 11 miles to Sumner. I don't even know right now if the Sumner Road will eventually lead you to Sumner.
As I drove, I enjoyed unfamiliar sites; the green rolling hills typical to the area, dotted with farm houses and scattered with assorted livestock. At the summit of each hill, the landscape opened up in front of me, wide and unbroken. I followed the winding road expecting a small town to crop up after each slow ascent or sweeping curve.
This slow scenic drive brought my cleared mind back to the events of the night before, so I tried to pray through it a bit. Every time I focused in though, the lyrics of an old familiar song, sung at a practice right before the meeting crowded into my consciousness.
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander.
Then sings my soul, how great thou art.
Over and over again, these words pressed forward into my thoughts, so eventually gave in and just enjoyed the drive with nothing more on my mind. I didn't see a soul on the drive out. Everyone was off working somewhere else and I didn't pass any cars once I got on the Sumner road, just the broad sandhills of Nebraska. I kept promising myself I would turn around if I didn't see the town at the next turn or over the next rise in the road, but I just kept driving until I finally found smallish gravel road that I figured was heading north towards a highway.
I took that road and quickly decided I was wrong. It was too narrow, but I didn't want to turn around just yet. I passed over a little bridge and spotted a surprising, idyllic farmhouse to my left. Nestled into a wooded area next to a small creek was a well-kept house with a manicured yard, complete with flower beds and big red barn. Up the road a little bit was the home's occupant, climbing onto an old work tractor amidst a small assortment of pens for his hogs. Driving past slowly, the man smiled and waved, but surely wondered where, exactly, I was going.
Shortly after meeting up with the first living soul I'd seen in miles, I found the gravel road turning into a dirt track of nothing more than a few ruts overgrown with grass. It was time to turn around. Hoping to find a faster way home, I used my phone's gps to see where I was; nowhere near Sumner, much further south than anticipated, and 18 miles from town.
I noticed something interesting on the drive back. The view was entirely different. I noticed more farms, more trees and wildlife. A deer in the ditch that popped her head up to watch me pass, a turkey hen with her brood following behind. I also started to notice more people. Immediately after getting back onto the Sumner road I passed a farmer who smiled and offered a kind wave. I passed probably 20 vehicles on my way back. Closer to town, everything became more familiar, the houses, the hills, the faces, the Kraziness of the downtown square.
It was all the same as I left it, but I saw it a little bit differently. I was welcomed back with smiles and waves.
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, and brings me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then sings my soul.
