WESTWARD HOHOHO - December 19, 2017

Catherine Cummins's photo.


As we leave the congestion of Edmonton traffic behind, we are singing along with Christmas carols on the radio and drinking peppermint mocha lattes. Yet the fields are bare, the even rows of stubble golden in the sunshine and the sky has the soft blue of spring streaked with mare's tails of white cloud. I sit in the afternoon sunshine soaking up the warmth and holding my heart open before the Lord.

Despite the lack of seasonal weather, with the approach of the holiest of days, I am like a child. Christmas on the road, especially in the mountains is an experience that fills me with anticipation. A visceral excitement that tickles my backbone and shivers my skin.

I feel SO blessed!

The tinsel garland on the dashboard glitters in the sun, but as the dark begins to fold around us at 4pm, I turn on the the tiny coloured lights entwined in the greenery. As we descend a rise beyond Hinton AB, the Rocky Mountains are but sulky gray shadows on the horizon as the day darkens to night.

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