My job here at Christian International has been really busy lately, printing manuals and flyers, but mostly a huge mail out campaign. I did manage a week away from work though, to take a vacation with a friend from the Atlanta area, Snellville, GA.

Byron loaded down his Road King, and I my GoldWing and we headed for Blood Mountain,  Robbinsville, North Carolina. and beyond.

We took off for the North Carolina and Tennessee boarder area, to ride The Tail of the Dragon on highway 129, the Hellbenders on highway 28, and the Cherohala Skyway, which is, I believe, highway 143 out of Robbinsville, N.C and changes to highway 165 in TN. We also rode a lot of other roads in the area and also rode over to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. What a week of riding. Now, I definitely need to get new tires.

I made new friends at the Two Wheel Inn (http://www.twowheelinn.com/). How about a motel with a garage attached to your room? If that sounds good, you would love this little place in Robbinsville, N.C. There were several mom and pop restaurants in town, as well as Mickey D’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell, a Chinese restaurant, and the like. There were also other hotel/motels in the area catering to bikers.

We had a great time, and since we were there during the week, traffic on The Tail of the Dragon was a lot less. The first time through was slow and cautious, but it seemed as though we were flying. After the first time, out times and skills picked up. We actually started catching up to people in front of us. The Hellbenders were like a mini Dragon. Cherohala Skyway is a mile high at one point. There were lots of Indian and mountain people information posters along the way at the elevation markers with names for the bends in the road. Has God ever thrown up a sign on your road of life that said “Beware sharp curves and turns ahead” right beside the road?

One Indian with a name I can’t pronounce, reportedly saved Andrew Jackson’s life in a battle and helped turn the battle for the military against, I think, the Creek Indians. Then this Indian, was included in the Trail of Tears march to Oklahoma. That seemed rather thankless to me. But he escaped and made it back home to North Carolina, where the state gave him almost 500 acres of land as a freeman in honor of his service.

Confederate Civil War renegades waged war on everyone that made it down the Cherohala Skyway trail. We found a marker of a grave of one of the many people they had murdered.

We met a couple on an 1800 GoldWing from Quebec who barely spoke English. Another couple, each had a BMW loaded down and they were from Washington State. Our neighbors at the Two Wheel Inn were brothers from St. Louis, MO. We talked to a group of friends at Cumberland Gap, mostly from Texas, who were there to escape the heat at home. One guy from New Jersey who I met at the Tail of the Dragon Motorcycle Resort store said he wanted to know about my patch and our ministry. He was excited to hear how we minister to bikers.

Do you ever consider history, and what it took to get us to this point? Current events in our country makes you wonder where we are going. We pray for deliverance from our situations, and unfortunately, we wonder why God has not delivered is from our trials and the peril of our life. The thing is, He has given us the strength and ability to overcome these things.

Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Look over Psalms 23 again, if you haven’t lately. It talks about peace, provision, protection, and more.

The more we rode through the Tail of the Dragon and other twisties in the area, the better we got at navigating them. Maybe, just maybe, God has us going through twisties in our life. He has given us the knowledge, strength, abilities, and stamina to make it through our test, trial, or winding road of life. It could be that this event was designed by God to make us stronger for the next event. Be encouraged! We can make it through, thanks be to God.

Now I need to encourage myself from time to time and restore my faith for God’s provision in my life.

If you have a Facebook account, look up Billy Bubba Sowder, make me your friend, and you can see my pictures from the trip to Robbinsville and the rides and scenery in the area. I never question friend requests if the pictures look like bikers.

I talked to Byron during lunch yesterday. He was going stir crazy. He was home with another week of vacation and decided he was going back to ride the Dragon again, and the Blue Ridge Parkway, and go to Maggie Valley to the motorcycle museum. I’m thinking God really loves Byron.

Blessings,

“Bubba” <”//><

Billy Sowder

National President

Prophets of God Motorcycle Ministry