WHY CAN'T THE COUNTY LEAVE THE COUNTRYSIDE ALONE?

WHY can't the County just leave the countryside alone?

I was driving Delameter Road yesterday, and there was heavy construction going on with road crews halting & ferrying traffic from the top of Delameter to just before the West Side Highway junction. Ditches were being dug, new roadway was being laid, in some places, it looks like more than a 2-lane passage is in the planning, and one entire hillside was been built up (the towering pile of hillside wasn't there last month when I passed over Delameter).

Looking at it, all I could think was, "WHY are they ruining this pretty stretch of roadway?"

I went online tonight to find our what the heck was going on, and read that the County has decided to turn that stretch of the highway into a tourist trap like so many other small towns are doing with their countrysides. They are widening the road (which does NOT need it), adding a CONCRETE RETAINING WALL (which again, is not needed for the original road; but with all the revamping that is unstabalizing the hillside ...), and putting in bicycling and walking lanes - isn't it bad enough that we have to deal with citified bicyclists on our main roads without now giving them the country roads too, to cause traffic jams and accidents? And WHAT is the reasoning behind having "walking lanes" on Delameter?

The whole project is ridiculous and a total waste of time and monies that could better be used elsewhere for LEGIT reasons.

WHY CAN'T THE COUNTY LEAVE THE COUNTRYSIDE ALONE?

Delameter used to be a very nice 10 minute cross-over country drive to avoid downtown madness - if I wanted to see concrete retaining walls, bicycle lanes, pedestrian paths, ect. ON BACK ROADS ... I'd move to Vancouver!

Country roads should remain country - THAT IS THE BEAUTY OF THEM.

I am angry that County Officials have taken it upon themselves to decide what is "best" for county citizens without asking them what they think is best for them. I KNOW County citizens do NOT like the influx of annual city bicyclists that flood our region and take over the highways every year: and NOW they will be flooding and jamming up the backroads too, where there used to be serenity of natural scenic views, and peace of mind from the main road madness.

Very pissed right now ...

A COMPLICATED PARADOX

It is a complicated paradox.

I am joyful knowing Bob is enjoying a better life in a better place.

And I am sorrowful knowing I will never see, touch, or love Bob again. Ever.

I desperately need the comfort of Elohim tonight.

Psalm 61 soothes, affirms, and heals my broken spirit.

Today, last year, Bob had been wheeled into surgery a little after 3 PM, to drain the pseudocysts on his pancreas … but the procedure was halted once they got the internal camera in place to see what needed to be done. Apparently, the cysts were “in a bad place”, and the surgeons felt it would do more damage that good to proceed. Around 7 PM, he was brought back to the ICU Ward – same room. After consultations, it was determined that his Team would try “radiology treatment sometime tomorrow”.

I was not happy that my husband, in his fragile condition, was put through all that preparation for nothing. And I was worried about Bob – he was nervous enough waiting all day to get into surgery … he was under a lot of stress as it was, and stress further aggravated his condition.

The big concern, this day, last year, was the breathing tube Bob had to be on for the surgery that never happened – the longer he remained on the tube, the more risk his lungs would stop working on their own. It was not a good situation.

Any of it.

I hated seeing Bob so helpless.

Bob on breathing tube. A horrible experience for both of us.

I hated that insidious illness that was robbing us of normalcy, and trying to steal Bob’s life & chipping away at his dignity.

I rested on Elohim’s mercy and Yeshua’s grace while I worked on the striped baby blanket I had designed for hospital donation; and prayed that Bob’s lungs would start working on their own and Bob could get off that tube asap.

And I played music to soothe my soul. This song got played a lot – I like Matthew’s singing, and this song fit the mood in that little ICU room perfectly: this Psalm was written by David, King of Israel, at a time when he was far from his home and safety (Bob & I were in another State, in an unfamiliar hospital: far from home, and feeling all safety nets slipping). In his sorrow, King David called out to Elohim – he knew that only in the Rock of Salvation, could he find rest & safety from the turmoil that assailed him on all fronts. In Elohim, Kind David always found shelter; and Elohim always heard his cry, reached down, and lifted him high atop the Rock.

I could SO identify with King David, December 4^th, 2018!

And, tonight, I am playing this song again. And SO NEEDING the comfort King David sought and Matthew sings about; as tonight, this year, my thoughts are pulled back to tonight, last year … and I cry – acutely feeling the loss of my husband in my life.

It is a complicated paradox.

I am joyful knowing Bob is enjoying a better life in a better place.

And I am sorrowful knowing I will never see, touch, or love Bob again. Ever.

I desperately need the comfort of Elohim tonight.

“Lead me to the Rock, that is higher than I: for Thou hast been a Refuge to me. A Tower of Strength against my enemies … hear my cry & keep me – let me dwell in Your presence forever; protect me with Your love and faithfulness – and I will sing praises of Your Name, and fulfill my vows day after day.”