We are back! I am still processing so much of the beauty and love we experienced the past two weeks on our trip to Canada and back. We had the most amazing time. The trip there and back was definitely one of relying on the Lord for strength. Lewis only had one moment each way where he was determined to not take one more step. It was getting off the plane at customs on the way up and getting off the plane on the way back. He was finished traveling! It took 3 days to get there and 2 full days of traveling back. We hopped from strength to strength. As I was envisioning what the Lord put on our hearts before we left…I saw these beautiful rocks layed out leading from one cabin to another where we were staying…and I started hopping on them with Lewis from rock to rock…from strength to strength. I explained to him that one rock was hope in the Lord, another waiting on the Lord, another joy in the Lord, another God’s love, etc. We had fun hoppping 🙂 I loved seeing God teach me to rely on Him for everything. He truly is all my strength. God PROVED his love to us and for us. He gave us a beautiful rainbow at one point pushing us closer to trusting Him and how NEAR He is. Lewis looked at the rainbow and shouted, “Look, God’s promise to us that He will never flood the earth again.” It just happened to be at a moment when I really needed to hear that.
As I’ve come back, I have continued to see God teaching me to let Him take care of things and to rely on Him more and more. I am trying so hard and He is blessing each effort SO much!
The children had so much beauty surrounding them during this trip…I was wondering what life would be like for them when they got back to the desert. They have taught me to soak it up when you are able to and adjust to all the other beautiful things God provides when life is tough again. Here, God is showing me much of His heart…and mine. That is SO beautiful to me here!
Here are some of the pictures from our trip. The kids loved kayaking (and so did Brian and I!), going on boat rides, playing in the cabin, playing with the dogs, going on prayer/singing walks (Hannah was RUNNING!!! Yeah!); eating pie and cake and ice cream every single night 😉 , going on car rides all over the island, swimming (Lewis swam all the way across the short side of the bay with his lifevest…I had no idea he could do that!), tubing (Lewis actually went tubing too, I could not believe how brave he was at 3!), playing at beaches, rivers, a waterfall, seeing God’s plants, trees, flowers, and creatures, going on big ferry rides, flying on the plane, going to hotels, seeing the the water creatures, fishing, catching minnows with nets, and most of all, spending time with Grandma and Grandpa. They LOVED Grandma and Grandpa. They loved being with them and in their arms. Hannah asked for “tampa” often and Lewis loved cooking with Grandma. Lewis liked to help her, saying “How may I help you Grandma” and told her that her food was very yummy often (she is quite the good cook!). Hannah loved cuddles and loved to follow buddy everywhere. Hannah LOVED the dogs and kitties! She has quite the love for animals I think…
Brian and I soaked up the beauty, enjoyed the kids and their joy in all the activities, had fun with each and every activity that the days had planned for us, went on little dates, went swimming together, went kayaking, and rested in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. God’s beauty surrounded us EVERYWHERE. God’s Word was Near, His love EXTRAVAGANT, His Joy plenty, and His Strength abundant.
Grandma and Grandpa so beautifully display God’s extravagant and consistent love….in everything they do. They are so full of life and youth! They are hard workers. They brought peace and joy to our lives. Grandpa is the greatest tour guide and knows how to give a really good time doing pretty much anything. Grandma teaches me about everything I love to learn about. And Grandma helped me overcome any fears I might have had of bats…we had way too much fun shooing a bat out of the boathouse cabin! I also got over my fears of spiders and water snakes too. But the bat one was my favorite 😉
We loved being with Grandma and Grandpa. We loved getting to know them even better, in a different setting, at a different time in our lives. We loved watching them fill our kids up with love and watching our kids fill them up too. What more could we ask for?
The only question I have is…when can we go back? 🙂
Walking in Faith 