The Blessed Life

A member of the camera club volunteered to provide transportation to the site of an upcoming photography shoot. So, a week or so before the group was to go there, I said to him, “Since you’re kind enough to do the driving, why don’t you choose the time you want to leave and get back?”

In that easygoing, polite manner of his, he said, “No. You tell me when you want to leave and when you want to come home, and I will get you there.”

During the three-hour trip to the gardens, he talked briefly about the highly stressful job he had retired from. With a slow grin, he said, “That’s why I try not to make too many decisions now.”

Even the heavy traffic in Atlanta didn’t appear to stress him. He stayed relaxed and kept the conversation going. Throughout the day, he remained calm, unhurried, accommodating of the group’s needs—and grinning, as if he knew a wonderful secret. As I observed his attitudes and actions, I thought, The phrase ‘No hurry. No worry’ describes him perfectly!

When, a few months later, I found the following quote in the Jan. 14^th devotional reading in Streams in the Desert, I thought of him--and others who seem so at peace as they go through life, no matter how stressful it becomes.

“This is the blessed life—not anxious to see far down the road nor overly concerned about the next step, not eager to choose the path nor weighted down with the heavy responsibilities of the future, but quietly following the Shepherd, one step at a time.”

Indeed, “the blessed life” is that of a calm and quiet spirit that lets the Shepherd choose the path and then meekly follows Him, wherever He leads, one step at a time.