Day 239 Only Passing Through- So How About the Beach?

Dear friends,

Ever been in the car just about all day? Ever felt like a taxi driver? Ever think you had all the paperwork you needed, only to find out you didn't? That was my day today. Then, when I got to the hospital, we were short staffed so...no dinner break. Instead, there was the shoveling down of the sandwich at the desk. Time was my enemy all day long. There wasn't enough of it. Everything was stuffed into it. And I was reminded once again, for the thousandth time, that this world is not my home, I'm only passin' through. Makes you pine for a long, unscheduled day at the beach...

Smitty goes to Dr. Bagchi's office on Thursday. Please pray the guy will be cleared to go swimming! This is no time to be kept out of a pool! Stephen continues to have a bit of trouble with walking normally. (But I bet he'll swim like Mr. Limpet!) The cane helps, but the other day I told him he was walking like Frankenstein. His body simply won't do things the way it should. I'll tell you though, you'll never hear a peep out of him. He trucks along with dignity. Some days the limitations really stink. But the world is not his home, he's only passin' through.

I'm dreaming a bit about Cape Cod these days. The foamy, icy surf under my feet, the sand between my toes, the smell of the bayberry, the sound of the waves... The ocean is a place I feel the presence of God in a unique way. There's a frightening aspect to the sea - big, powerful, relentless. Then there is the rhythm of the tides, and the sounds of people enjoying the controlled risk of manageable surf. Salt in your hair, salt in your eyes, salt in your mouth! Windburn and sunburn, and that glorious, chilly feeling that comes when the sun gets low and you need your sweatshirt over your bathing suit. Even on cloudy days, the ocean is glorious in its grayness, soulful and just a little sad, grabbing hold of the melancholy part of me and reminding me this world is not my home, I'm only passin' through. I love the sea. But only from the shore.


"For whatever we lose, like a you or a me,
it's always ourselves we find in the sea." ee cummings


If you're hankerin' for a little cyber ocean, check out http://www.morebeach.com/coast-guard-beach-cam.html

Next year, we will have the Smith Family Celebrate Life vacation. Since Miss Rejoice took such a large hit in this jumble, we asked her preference for a special destination. My boys aren't picky. Their bags are packed to go wherever, whenever. But we couldn't get anything out of the girl. We have really always had modest vacations; a week at the Cape, and once we did the Disney thing in September with a free meal plan! So we're not exactly world travelers in our house. While she thought about it, I prayed to the Great One. "Anything but a cruise" said I. I love the sea. But only from the shore. So at this point you know the punchline. She wants to go on a cruise. Good gravy. I don't like boats. I spent a year one day on a whale watch with my head over the side while my husband chowed down on clam chowder. But I would go to the moon for that child if that's what she wants. So I will board the ship and remind myself all the way "this world is not my home, I'm only passin' through."

So glad to be passin' through with all of you!

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann

Prayers please for Pastor Greg the Wonder, whose dear father had a heart attack. And for Melanie and the kids back home. And the team he had to leave behind in NYC. One life effects so many...