A new journey begins…
In June of 2017 I posted about a journey I was embarking
upon. That journey landed me in San Diego where I spent the last four years
with my CA family, enduring Covid and quarantine. I arrived here in October, ironically,
I leave here in September on a road trip across county with my best friend and
will end the trip in Georgia in October. Imagine that…October. A month with
great significance for me (see earlier posts). But that is not the focus of this
post. As mentioned, I am now embarking upon a road trip in September with my best friend entitled “Purple Roadtrippers—Praying Across America”.
The idea started with a desire to spend the holidays with my
Georgia family. Because it would be an extended stay, I wanted my car so I
could have my own transportation while there. I seriously in a joking tone
asked my BFF to fly out and drive back home with me. To my astonishment she
said YES, and the planning began. It started as a pleasure trip visiting the
National Parks along the way, but God in His infinite wisdom has given us a bigger
vision for the trip; full details will be disclosed to us as we travel. We knew
from the beginning discussions that He was in this trip. We had many
confirmations in the unity of our spirits. That included the month of September
being our time of departure. Our spirits have been in sync throughout the
planning process. While we have a proposed itinerary, where we stop and how
long we stay is in the God’s hands. We want this trip to be a Holy Spirit led
journey so we will be flexible in our plans and directed by His guidance. As we
tour different parks, we will be in search of the secret places most people
miss. In those places we will pray. We will not travel the interstates we are
in search of scenic highways and byways—the roads less traveled. On those roads
we will pray. Everywhere our feet and tires tread will be claimed for the
Kingdom of God! Hence, Praying Across America.
Why is our trip titled Purple Roadtrippers—Praying Across
America? My BFF (aka Lana) and I met in 1990 at a church outside of Atlanta,
Georgia; a racially mixed church, approximately 50% Black and 50% White. Lana was
married at the time; she says God brought me into her life because He knew she
would need the support of a single female friend when her husband passed away
in 1994. God blessed us to see beyond our color, which was not the first thing
mentioned when describing someone in our congregation. The description was
usually something like, “the tall thin lady with twin boys that works in the
children’s ministry”, etc. My mother however, always wanted to know what color
someone was when I talked about the people at church, which annoyed me…my
clever response was, “they’re purple”. When I introduced Lana to her I said, “this
is my purple friend Lana, and by the way I’m purple too”. Therefore, Lana is not
White, and I’m not Black—we are purple. Hence, “The Purple Roadtrippers”.
As mentioned, we will be praying where we stop and led by God in the direction we will travel and where we make our stops. We are so grateful God is in this journey. Where He leads, we will follow. He has given each of us a scripture verse:
Isaiah 40:3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Lana)
Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” (Vanessa)
Isaiah 30:21 “Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” (to both of us)
As we travel, I will be posting updates on our journey and
what God is doing through us in the places we visit.
Peace be the journey…God bless
