Half the fun is getting there...

My friend, Kyle, called me yesterday. As we talked, I asked him about his recent trip to the beach. Then our conversation turned to the trip my family has planned to Colorado. As usual, Kyle said to me, "Kim, really??? Why in the world are you driving it? Why don't you just fly out there". My reply was the usual, "Half the fun is getting there, Kyle."

You see, this isn't the first time we have made the drive to Colorado. We were there many years ago when Lindsay and Daniel were kids. When I look back on that trip, half of what I remember is the drive out there and the drive back home. We all had such a great time! We saw so much of the US that I would never have seen from an air plane. I vividly remember the green grass in Kentucky, the corn fields in Illinois, the endless skies of Kansas. And then, just when you think Kansas will go on forever, you cross the state line into Colorado. I remember so well my first glimpse of the Rockies. As we drove down the interstate, off to the left there appeared to be a storm cloud in the distance. The more I watched it, the more I realized that I wasn't seeing a storm cloud, but rather the majestic Rocky Mountains. What a glorious sight!

The drive home was filled with just as much excitement as we got to see the gorgeous landscape of New Mexico, an actual road runner at a rest stop, the plains of Texas, Oklahoma City, where the chairs now sit as a memorial to those who lost their lives that horrible day of the bombing. And crossing the Tennessee state line on the bridge outside of Memphis and shouting, then singing Rocky Top! What a ride we'd had!

As I got off the phone with Kyle, I got to thinking about how that philosophy sums up who I am, and my life. It seems that when life is going great, there is so much fun to have. And when life is so hard, that I feel like I can't take any more, if I look really hard, there is still something good coming out of it all. There is still an inside joke with a friend, or a gorgeous bird on my bird feeder, or a friend that God sends with just the right words for the situation. These small things make the situation, or the next breath, a little more bearable. And, even when we are drowning in sorrow, we can still just know that God is God. And He alone is beautiful and wonderful.

As I look back on life, the good and the bad, I can honestly say, I am not home yet, but I sure am enjoying the journey. I am learning to trust God even in the darkest times when I don't see Him or feel His presence. And I am learning to enjoy the moments with every ounce that's in me when life serves up a lighthearted day, a good laugh, or a drive to Colorado. After all, half the fun is getting there!

For my dear friends that are going through unimaginable grief and pain right now, my heart breaks with you. You are in my prayers and I love you!

"Other people are going to find healing in your wounds. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts." Rick Warren

Psalm 40:1-3
 ¹ I waited patiently for the LORD;  he turned to me and heard my cry. ² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. ³ He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.