June 17 -- Travel with a Friend -- Dijon, France

Yesterday, as I suggested, we left Cremeaux in the morning to take our host and hostess to lunch in Crozet.  We drove there in two cars with our host leading the way.  As we left it was raining and mist filled the air such that visibility was poor.  About half way along we suddenly drove out of the rain and mist.  Almost immediately we came to a tee intersection, there laying before us was a breath taking view across the broad Loire River valley.  It was beautiful.  We turned and drove along that fabulous view for a few minutes and then the rain and clouds settled in again. 

After about 45 minutes of driving we arrived in Crozet.  Our host parked and we parked beside him.  We all got out of the cars with hats and umbrellas; we started to walk through the town.  Before we had gone more than a block, the rain was stopping and we were putting umbrellas away. Soon the sun was shining.   We all climbed the winding wooden stairway to the top of the keep.  There we looked Out over miles and miles of beautiful sunlit scenery.  We scanned  across the  stone buildings of the town below us.  We gazed out at the mountains in the distance.  Our eyes followed the railroad tracks and the streams wending their ways along the valley and through the rolling hills.  We were thrilled by the sheer bucolic beauty of it all.

After carefully descending the narrow stairs (they some how seemed to have gotten much steeper and more treacherous than when we went up) we went to find the restaurant for lunch.  The food was superb, the service delightful, and the company beyond compare.  Over lunch Ray shared his insights.  We talked about the struggle to maintain the usefulness of church clubs and organizations without becoming enslaved to them.  As with many people, Ray struggled to see how to gather with the family of God without allowing the traditional models of religious groups to rise up and control the ways we relate to each other.  It was such fun to see him listening and responding to Holy Spirit as he considered these important matters.  His lovely and quiet wife Margaret thought deeply as she listened.

After lunch Ray and Margaret returned to their home and Mariusz and  I set out for Dijon where we planned to spend the night before going on to Paris.  Because we were not pressed for time we set the computer to keep us off the motorways (the French equivalent of US Interstates).  We discovered a fabulous world of beauty along the smaller roads.  For a long portion of the drive we followed along the banks of a canal.  The awe inspiring beauty and the gracious continual presence of the Lord made the trip a total delight.  We arrived at our hotel in time for Mariusz to watch his beloved Poland hold the powerful German team scoreless in the Euro Cup Futball match.

Traveling with Jesus has wonderful periods of fun and delight.

His, thus Yours,

  Stuart