Last summer my family came together for a grand reunion near the southwestern Colorado spots where, in my childhood, my father and mother often took us camping. Journeying out to the festivities led me by Monarch Pass, an old trading post on the Continental Divide that's been a favorite rest spot for as long as I can remember. Often during those treasured vacations of old, my father would give us a break from driving at that gift and snack shop, and we'd stretch our legs and breathe deep the clean highland air nurturing that highway crest. As you might guess, I renewed those beloved memories on my reunion journey, taking an extended stay to ride the old tram (but a few years younger than me) to Monarch's peak, just over 11,000 feet above sea level. Rather than enjoy that return trip, I strode down a one-lane gravel service road that wound ever so slowly back to the post.

Such strolls do wonders for your mind and heart, providing an honest perspective on your role in life. Clouds drifted by both above and below me, sometimes limiting my gaze to just a few feet, other moments revealing vistas crossing what seemed like hundreds of miles. Often I stopped to wonder at the ragged tree lines, grassy fields, still ponds, wildflowers, stubborn boulders, and lingering pools of snow. Some of those firs and pines must have stood there before my childhood visits, thriving upon awesome giants of rock and earth that had withstood all the harsh elements could throw at them for thousands of years, and yet these monuments to creation were themselves dwarfed by the soaring clouds that came and went, their fluid forms rarely ever staying in any one shape or place for longer than the time I spent considering them. It reminded me of James 4:14 – "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

At one time the sun broke through the vapors, revealing a verdant valley stretching to the next peak. A natural belt of green grass seemed to stretch from my spot to that cloud-shrouded pinnacle apparently oh so close to the west, though I knew many detours surely lurked along the way, invisible to my eye. The forested slope also displayed a gravel road winding about one side, though that path ran but a portion of the way before disappearing beneath the trees. Both avenues called to me, not just with the promise of unblemished beauty, but of adventure and mystery, and yet my reunion timetable beckoned, and as my comforting heart reminded me, I still had the magic of that never-traveled (by me, anyway) service trail before me, one that promised its own measures of discovery and delight. So I paused, took a photo, and resumed my journey.

It was this photo I chose for the cover of my new book, The Road to Renewal. Though this novel takes place in central Oklahoma, the symbolism of that mountain vista captured the scope of my book quite well.

The Road to Renewal tells how one follower of Christ, a newspaper humorist shaken by divorce, crosses paths with another believer battling his own personal demons. These characters endure a three-day plunge through challenges many Christians do not like to face, like sex, prejudice, debt, crime, loneliness, and suicide. It proves an enlightening road, involving Issues that impact believers and nonbelievers alike. Its satirical wit may offend some believers, but I hope this honesty and realism opens doors in our increasingly divided society, allowing doubters and cynics to consider things Christians themselves debate and yet hold dear. If readers set aside preconceptions and study their lives anew, as standing upon such mountain vistas forces all to do, everyone might find something to ponder, marvel, and laugh about within the mystery and hardship of these pages. I hope so.

The Road to Renewal made its debut Oct. 9 at online outlets everywhere. You may find further details at www.godsfurryangels.com!