"It's just an 8-second ride, Daughter. Just an 8-second ride!"

So many people have asked me how my father, Duane Wagner, is doing, and if we still stay in touch, since I first wrote about meeting my blood father, less than a year ago. I'd like to thank every one of you for your encouragement, your prayers, and your kind commments!

And yes, it is going well. To meet and to get to know my blood father, has been one of the top events and gifts God has blessed me with in my life. I speak to my father, by phone, every day. Almost every morning, we go over the Bible study lessons on this UCG website. We take turns reading aloud. We are now working on the final lesson. This has been an amazing journey!

I have also learned a lot from my father. Although, I don't deserve it, he always champions the best in me. I always have his full support. I think, 'Wow--our Father, in heaven, is likewise supporting and encouraging us!'

When my father sees that anything is wrong, whether it be the spiraling events in this world, or a personal crisis, big or small, for him or for me, my father says, "It's just an eight-second ride!"

The first time I heard him say it, I knew exactly what he meant. Because 'this ain't my first rodeo!' Ha, ha! Seriously, I grew up in Texas, around a lot of rodeos. A rider will, hopefully, stay on a bull for eight seconds. The eight seconds helps protect the well-being of the bull, so that it is not exhausted or mentally broken down from being ridden too much. And if the rider succeeds in staying on the bull for eight seconds, he is awarded points, by the judges, according to his smooth flow on the ride, etc.

Now eight seconds is a short time that normally goes by very fast. But if you are on a bull, eight seconds seems like a pretty long time! And likewise, when you are in the midst of a trial, 'eight seconds' seems like a pretty long time. But the eight seconds ARE coming to an end. And when we look back, it won't seem like it had been such a long time after all.

John 16:21 - A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. (KJV)

In the midst of our upcoming sorrows, let's remember, it's just an eight-second ride!