Clarity

Straining to see through the mist on the windshield
eyes tired from looking for what is not there,
fearing that if you relax for a moment
something that should not be there will surprise you.

The fog started in puffs, and played in your headlights.
Your radiator grill devoured the first dozen or so but them seemed
to reach its fill. Now the fog is devouring you. You drive through its innards
Looking for a way out. Knowing there is relief ahead, but when?

The curves of the mountain road were familiar in the daytime
and not unsafe at night. Now they hide untold hazards,
and your lights will lead you off the edge, if you get fooled into following them.
Is that a rock in the lane, a piece of wood?

Then a hole in the fog, after what seems like an hour of
gripping the wheel too tight and sitting all the way forward.
More dense vapor, but you sense relief as the moon tries to
break through from over head. You look up instead of
at the road, and in that instant you see a black sky with a single star.

The road appears again and your muscles relax. Your mind is exhausted
but your safe arrival now seems assured. The world is real again,
the life you had is returned, and you understand that this clarity is
a gift from God.

This is me. The fog was bad, but it makes me appreciate clear thinking
so much more.

Todays contemplation: For those in the fog, clarity is still there, waiting for you.
For those who have not spent a month or a year behind a fogged windshield,
you can help someone who is. To the fog, we hate you for blinding us
and we thank you for making clarity more beautiful.