OUR TRIP HAS BEGUN: Wednesday 2/24/20

We woke up to a COLD morning on Wednesday, February 24. We got the rest of our leaving-home-for-nearly-3-weeks chores done, Richard packed the car, and at 9:20 we were backing out of our garage and coasting down the driveway. HOORAY!!

DIGRESSING…Amy and the grandkids came over to tell us “bye.” Oh how I love them and it was difficult not to cry knowing we would be apart for so long. (I am a spoiled grandma~~ I admit it!) Our son-in-law Brian was still in Knoxville at the hospital with their son Jarrett (our grandson!) who had suffered a broken femur on Saturday and had had surgery on Sunday to put the rod in. Being so very concerned about Jarrett’s fever (which is why he was still hospitalized) and not knowing when he would be discharged and he and Brian would return home to Amy and the children caused a bit of extra angst in my heart as we were saying good-bye to Amy, Isabella, Josh, and Jaden. But we hugged and kissed Amy and our grandkids good-bye before they took off for school, and we finished getting ready for departure.

Once in the car and headed up the road toward Huntsville, AL to spend a couple of days with our son Chip, Richard started playing the Psalms which we have been reading this year. During that reading and with my heart focused on the Lord, HE spoke in His unmistaken way, communicating to me that HE is in control and I am not. Jarrett’s health is under HIS control. Amy having to leave town to attend special meetings is under HIS control. Brian not being home to see her before she left is under HIS control. The care of the grandkids during this time is under HIS control. (Josh so poignantly told me a couple of days earlier when I was “stewing” about Richard and me leaving town while so much was up in the air, “Grandma, we DO have our other set of grandparents here in town.” Oh, out of the mouth of a 10-year-old babe. He wasn’t sweating all of the “small stuff,” (so huge in my mind). YES, God told me loud and clear that HE is in control and not mt. I had to shed a few tears of repentance and humbleness as the Lord lovingly took me to task as He so often has to do with me, His child. I am so thankful for my Faithful Heavenly Father, for my daughter whose faith in God seems to so very often dwarf mine, for my grandkids who are all four born-again and growing in the Lord, for my son-in-law whohas stood by his son spending four days in an out-of-town hospital when “sitting and waiting” is so difficult for him, and for my husband Richard who makes decisions for the two of us with much prayer and wisdom from the Lord. And now I am on the road to go visit our son in North Alabama, fly out from there on Saturday to LA, and catch a cruise on Sunday to Hawaii. WHEW!

10:45 a.m. We made our first stop to have a late breakfast at a “hole-in-the-wall” café. We enjoyed our omelets (mine with egg whites and half the cheese: trying to stay healthy!). It was raining and 42 degrees. 80 degrees in Hawaii is sounding mighy good as we have had a much colder-and-longer winter in our neck of the woods. We were back on the road at 11:15.

12:15 a.m. Pit Stop at Priester's. Too much coffee at breakfast necessitated this stop for me. HA! When we came out just 20 minutes later (I had to shop around in Priester’s for a few minutes), the rain had stopped and the sun was breaking through as the sky was clearing. Still cold at 43 degrees.

2:30 p.m. Good news from Knoxville. Our son-in-law Brian called to let us know that Jarrett had just been discharged (3:30 their time) and that they were outta there and headed home. We praised the Lord for that great news. My grandkids’ other grandma (she is a dear friend of mine in addition to being co-grandma to our grandkids) had picked up Belle, Josh and Jaden from school at their early 1:00 p.m. dismissal so I knew the kids were in her loving hands and now with Brian headed home, the Lord had worked it all out. Jarrett's fever apparently wasn't caused by anything terribly serious and he was coming home. Without any help from me. Controller? Wanna-Be Fixer? Yep, that’s me. God showed me on this day that I can relax if I will only rely on Him. At age 58-½, am I going to fully learn that lesson this time? I pray so!! “Let go and let God!”

3:30 p.m. My sister Nonie just called. She and Tom were on a trip down to our neck-of-the-woods and had called to see if they could come by. Here we were headed to their neck of the woods and they weren’t going to be home either. We made a plan to try to get together for a meal when we fly back into Huntsville on Sunday, 3/14~~ to meet for lunch on Monday before Richard and I head home. It has been over a year since we’ve been together so my heart sings as I look forward to seeing Tom and Nonie in a little over two weeks!

4:40 p.m. We are arriving in Chip’s town when Richard has the grand idea of going by the airport to weigh our packed bags. We each have the maximum size suitcase to be checked as well as a carry-on each. Packing for the two-week cruise, we want to make sure we haven’t exceeded the 50# limit on our big bags to be checked. He comes back out letting me know we did good: each bag was just under 39 lbs. In my woman’s mind, that instantly means we have “lots of room” for plenty of souvenirs. LOL!!

5:20 We pull up at Chip’s house. Of course, we already knew he is at the church getting ready for the Student Worship Service at 6:30. We let ourselves in, get our stuff in, freshen up, relax for a few minutes and then drive over to Capshaw for Wednesday night worship which was FANTASTIC. What a joy to see our Student Pastor Son leading his 100+ students in their quest to know God.

After church, Chip and some 80 others (mostly teenagers!) went out for their customary Mexican dinner. Chip actually had brought in a special surprise guest for the service who is also spending the night here at his home. When Chip and George got back from the restaurant at 10:30, the four of us sat and talked until midnight and then retired for the night.

The first day of our trip was a great one. I love riding along as Richard drives enjoying the togetherness we both enjoy, hearing from my Lord, and seeing our son. Sweet Dreams!