unfamiliar sound

FROM "A LESSON LEARNED"
Last week my youngest sister, Karianne, was in Oklahoma for a quick visit. Friday was her last night here and because she was flying out of Oklahoma City Saturday morning she spent the night at my house. So, Saturday morning I had to drive Karianne to the airport and unfortunately her flight flew out of Oklahoma City at 5:40AM!! Of course, this meant that she needed to be at the airport by 4:40AM at the latest. (Sigh) The reasons why she chose such an early flight made much more sense at the time she purchased the flight then they did when my alarm went off at 4:00AM...but nevertheless I knew I had to drag myself out of bed and get this over with. I only hit the snooze once, thankfully for everyone, because Karianne's alarm didn't go off and so I woke her at 4:06AM and she quickly got herself together and into the car. We also didn't realize, at the time I agreed to drive Karianne to the airport, that Brandon would be out of town and so I would have to get the boys up at 4:00AM and take them along for the ride. (Sigh...again) So, as soon as I woke Karianne I carried the boys to the car in pitch darkness and strapped them into their car seats. Soon enough, we were pulling out of my driveway and making our way to the airport. We dropped Karianne off at about 4:30AM and headed home. The boys were drifting in and out of sleep and I was just staring straight ahead focusing on the road and trying to stay awake myself. The roads were empty and my little town seemed almost deserted. Besides one or two early risers driving down the road and the lights of business signs blazing in the 4:00AM darkness there was not a soul to be seen. It seemed so lonely and secluded driving along highway 152 toward my house and, it may sound silly, but I couldn't wait to get back to the coziness of my own home. The dark outdoor world felt cold, dark and secluded and I wanted to find myself back in the safety of my house and in the warmth of my own bed. As I pulled into my driveway and opened the drivers side door of my car I heard something that I never imagined I would hear coming from the dead of night. I heard birds chirping! I unloaded my sleeping boys from the back seat of the van and carried them inside all the while listening to the chirping of birds piercing the silent night.
Lesson Learned? I fell back asleep very quickly that night but a couple of days later as I thought back to that sound I heard in the dark night it came to me. Are you driving down a dark highway? Does your world seem deserted? Do you feel lonely and secluded? Is the world around you dark and empty? We all go through it, whether we admit it or not. We all have moments in our life where we feel alone. We all go through things that take us to a place where we can't wait to get home. We just want to navigate ourselves back to that place we remember so well...that place where we feel safe, warm and ourselves. Are you in that place? This last week I drove down to Turner Falls Youth Camp to visit my friend Jill and my sister Karianne. As I drove the hour long drive with only my two boys in the backseat I had alot of time to think. I couldn't help but think back to exactly one year ago as I made the drive to camp. Back then, I still lived in Ponca City and was actually attending camp with my church in Ponca City but my heart didn't have a home at that time. Brandon had already resigned his position at Ponca City Assembly and literally 3 days after I returned home from camp we would be moving our family to an apartment in Oklahoma City and starting a new life. When I'm honest with myself now I realize that I dind't want to be going to camp then. I didn't want to be packing my home and moving. I just wanted to lock myself into a room and try to pretend nothing that was currently going on in my life was actually happening. I wanted to fall asleep and wake up to realize that this had all been a bad dream. Last year, moving to Oklahoma City, Brandon starting a new job and me trying to figure out what my new life would be was the most challenging thing I have seen in my 26 years. I felt a range of emotion, I learned alot about myself and I learned alot about my family. This was definitely the most desolate highway, the darkest night and the biggest ghost town I have driven through in my life so far. If you are in that place right now I want to ask you...do you hear the birds yet? You see, when I pulled up to my house it was about 4:45AM. It was still pitch black outside, some stars were still shining and everyone was asleep. The birds however were signaling a new dawn on the horizon. The birds were chirping hours before light broke and a new day began. It was the sound of hope, the sound of life and the sound that I was not alone. It was a sound that proved that within a matter of hours the sun would rise and the city would again come to life. If you are currently in a dark place or if you find yourself in one in the weeks and years to come then just learn listen for the birds! Do the birds take away the darkness? No. Do the birds take away the feelings of lonliness? No. But they do prove that the darkness will soon pass, a new day will dawn and your darkness WILL end!