I Love Roller Coasters

This is it. In 48 hours, God willing, we will officially be "on the road." I wish I had the words to elegantly convey the exact feelings I have about it; however, the best I can do is equate it to the feelings you get when you're about to ride the newest, fastest roller coaster at the park. If you do not ride roller coasters, you can do so vicariously through me:)

You get to the park, see it from the parking lot and tell yourself, "If I do nothing else today but ride that, today will be a good day!" So, you head over only to find that the line is ridiculously long. You exchange questioning glances with your mate, shrug it off, and agree it'll be worth it.

For us, not only was the line excruciatingly long, but we experienced "technical difficulties" with no estimated time of repair. We debated about getting out of line and trying it again at another time, but we came here just for this ride and leaving now would leave us beyond disappointed, devastated even. So we stayed, endured and tried to make the best of our time while we waited.

Finally, it is time to take that step. You get on, fasten your harnesses, take a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief. Then the upward ascent begins. What started off as 100% pure excitement slowly mixes with a whole bag of emotions you had not anticipated. Your heart begins to race and the full reality of your situation presents itself. You can't see the track in front of you or what is to come. All you know is you are so very far from where you started and moving away from those you love. All the "what ifs" swarm your thoughts and you question your judgement about getting on in the first place.You give your harness a few extra tugs, yet at this point, you know it's all pretty much out of your hands. You accept there is no turning back. Suddenly, you're reminded that you absolutely love roller coasters!

All the excitement rushes back. You look out past the treetops as you crown the top and have one of those moments. I believe this moment may be different for many people. For me, it's a very poignant and significant moment of peace and clarity. It's a moment where I feel completely present without any cares or concerns. I feel at one with the world and know I was divinely created. It's a moment when I'm reminded the world existed long before me and will exist long after I am gone. And I am more than ok with it. I love this moment. It's brief and only lasts a few seconds before the ride takes over and you are all consumed by the ride.

That is where we are right now. We leave in 48 hours (or less) and we are at that last upward push before we have that crowning moment and the ride takes over. I expect that moment to be after my husband and I share that last solidifying look before he puts the truck in drive, and I look behind me and see my beautiful children all buckled and excited to take this ride with me.

I am so excited to see what God has in store for us. I know it'll be full of unexpected twist and turns, ups and downs, cries of laughter and fear, but I do love roller coasters, and I can't wait to share it all with you!

Romans 12:2 (NLT)
² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

No Doubts

This week began with hoping and praying that the cost of repairs for the truck would not be diabolical. I felt confident that whatever amount quoted would be less than the loss we'd take on a trade in, so I was prepared for something in the thousands. What I was not prepared to hear from Twisted Diesel in Chesapeake VA (recognition to them for being honest, courteous, and prompt) was them telling us that our truck was just fine...actually, it was running great and was in excellent condition to use their words.

The only "issue" found could be remedied with the use of a tuner that they suggested Kay could do himself as it's not too complex. They gave him some tips and sent us on our happy way. Oh, and the price of the tuner is around $350. Praise God. They also told us about an aftermarket kit (that we knew we would need to get if we kept the truck long term) was already on the truck! Yeah, don't know why we didn't know that, but we didn't. Now we do, and it's great news.

To think, we were ready to buy or rent another house so we could save up and sell/trade in our 5th wheel combo because we just did not "trust" the truck. Yet, who were we really not trusting? But He has called us according to His will and He closed those doors which would have taken us on another path. The door closed on the condo on which we were under contract to purchase as well as the other numerous houses we attempted to rent.

At the time, we would just complain and throw our hands up. We momentarily held negative opinions about the the people that would give poor directions and then leave their phone in the car or the strange property management company that made us of set up a viewing a week in advance only to have that appointment cancelled because we did not call an hour ahead of time to confirm (again) or the house that sat vacant for months only to have its lease signed the DAY BEFORE we want it! The very first house we looked at for rent (great neighborhood, cheap, and directly across the street from our church) was all ours, but I just did not get a good feeling about it, so we decided to wait, and someone else got it. There were more with similar odd results. We would question and wonder what God really wanted us to do. Yet, we weren't listening to his voice. We were using our own reasoning and earthly understanding to make logical, practical, beneficial-in-the-future decisions as to what would be best for us. Thankfully, that did not get us far.

Finally, we submitted and said, "Ok, Lord, what would you have us do now?" Then, we listened and waited. As I wrote in my last post, he simply said, "Get the truck fixed."

Now we know, without any doubt, that we were meant for THIS adventure at THIS time. And that, my friends, is a good feeling.

"But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams."

1 Samuel 15:22