I’ve written a lot lately on positive perspectives because, in this season of life, it is incredibly easy to operate in the opposite frame of mind.
Yesterday, we returned from a two-week vacation in the Pacific Northwest. It was, at times, as slow going as Sun Road traffic. It was, at other times, as swift as cold currents. By plane cross-country and by car through three states, from Montgomery to Dallas to Kalispell to Essex to Spirit Lake to Spokane Valley – and back and forth between Spokane Valley and Spirit Lake a dozen times – all in the name of visiting family I miss dearly everyday.
In the throes of such travel, it is the promise of familiar faces – and the pleasantry of familiar places – that fill the hours of travel with joy, not dread. Though traveling with two young children graces that mileage with an extra challenge.
Still, I was happy to carry sleeping Izaak on my chest, sleeping Abigail on my hip, and loaded diaper bag on my back from plane to baggage claim just to see my mom and stepdad. Happy to ride between two car seats for an hour to see my dad. Happy to spend service-less days in Essex, letting time slow, just to hear my brother’s laughter. Happy to take seven hours on a four hour drive to see my grandparents again.
Now I’m killing off the blues in the Bright Muggy South. Is it worth it to go so very far only to return to aloneness and two-thousand miles between me and the folks I love?
Why, of course.
Is it worth it to be extracted from a carefully tested rhythm that keeps the babies happy?
Well…
Of course! Though returning to upheaval [graces] me with an extra challenge.
On any other day, I’d be ecstatic that Izaak napped alone for ninety minutes. But sorrow, upheaval, and exhaustion have almost eclipsed that victory.
So, I’ve got to surrender (again) my frame of mind to the One who redeems. It’s been pretty awful returning from a cross-country trip, as usual, but great new memories and the gift of a ninety minute solo nap are much more pleasant to dwell on than all the other junk.
Yes, I’ll trade the negative for the positive and declare this Monday a good Monday, all things considered.
Life Out Here 