The phone is completely beyond control. Have you ever thought about it? They haven't been around very long and now we have them in our pockets, purses, cars, and book bags, as well as our offices and homes. At my house, there are more phones than people! Everyone has a ring and the more astute phone owners have various rings for each friend and family member. With a phone we're never out of reach - NEVER!

Monday I drove along the rural roads of Hanover County to visit Hanover High School and see a marching band uniform. Of course, I talked too long and was going to be late taking Sally to school for the second exam block. I reached in my purse to call Joni so she could run Sally to school - NO PHONE. As I was driving back, knowing we would be five to ten minutes late for an exam, I realized that there was no way of knowing exactly what was going on at home. Did Sally ask Joni herself? Was she really already at school? Not only could I not know, the pressure and tension were far removed. There was no phone to ring with an upset voice on the other end. No phone. No news. Just the moment. Just the now.

My favorite road in Hanover has always been Rural Point Rd. and that is even more true in a little car. It is a winding, hilly, road with large over-hanging trees. The sun sparkles through into the cool shade as you turn left and right, rising upward and swooshing down, across bridges, by beautiful green lakes. As I drove along, the "now" overwhelmed the "yet to be", the "here" became more demanding than the "there". I am one person in one place doing one thing and that is a finite human limit.

Just the moment. Sally got to school. She took the exam and did well. Whether I worried or we talked on my way home didn't impact the outcome at all, it only impacted the now. If we had talked, I would have missed where I actually was and what my life was actually experiencing. God was there, along the sides of the road, presenting the beauty of heaven, providing the joy of the breeze, if and only if, I lived in the moment.