Clay in the Hands

Last Saturday, the wind was blowing from the south at about 40 miles per hour.  The dirt was blowing and so was anything else that was not nailed down.  Kristi and I decided to make a quick trip to Lubbock to do a little shopping.  Now for those of you not familiar with the geographical location of our fair city, we are due west of Lubbock.  So picture, if you will, the setting.  We are headed down highway 114 traveling east at about 70 miles per hour.  The wind is blowing from the south at 40.  Because of the blowing dust, the visibility was not all it could be and the gusts made it interesting to try and keep the car on the road.  And in the midst of all of that, every 30 to 45 seconds, I had to dodge a tumbleweed rolling across the highway.  It was actually kind of fun.  As we got into the edge of Lubbock, Kristi said, “That was like being in a real-life video game.”  (I actually began looking forward to the challenge of driving home).

I love living in Texas.  I have visited many, many other places but I have never lived anywhere but Texas.  In fact, I was thinking about this last night – of my 45 years, I have lived 32 of them in west Texas.  Places like Andrews and Fort Stockton and Kermit – west Texas – these have been home to me.  Now, here in Levelland, I am back in west Texas.  Maybe it’s the sunsets or the warm, dry climate.  Maybe its the lifestyle.  Maybe it’s the people – good, solid, hard-working and caring.  It is actually a combination of all these things – notice I left out the dust storms.

But at the heart of it, as I reflect on my time in the metroplex and other areas, I think the reality is, as long as I am where God wants me, it is a wonderful place.  It could be anywhere in this great state (and even, heaven forbid, outside this state).  As long as I know we are where God wants us, we will grow to love it.

But there is still something about west Texas.  I mean, where else can you live where a simple drive on the highway can turn into a real-life video game?