Day 248 Summer Ramblings

Dear friends,

Thank you for the many happy birthday wishes via email, FB and comments and telephone. (Jim and Phyllis, your singing on my voicemail is one for the annuls...) Changing the number from 49 to 50 is kind of like when the odometer turns over on your car: it looks dramatic, but nothing really changes. Life still advances in increments, one second at a time. I have continued to work my husband over for info on my little birthday trip, but all I know is it’s within driving distance and to someplace we’ve never been before. I’m very excited: I love surprises! (So why do I keep looking for information? Because I’m a nosy Nellie, that’s why!)

Mostly I’m glad for the opportunity to spend some time with my best friend. (Thanks to all my excellent fellow travelers taking care of my children!) Steve told me not to worry about counting calories this weekend, so I intend to put plenty of butter on my bread! I do feel rather decadent going away somewhere when summer vacation is only about a month away, but I’ll get over it. You only turn 50 once…

I’m blessed by these little excursions in life, but I’m not foolish enough to confuse them with the meat and potatoes of the pilgrim road. These charming rests are only satisfying in the context of “seeking first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” I’m all for a break and a change of pace, but our lives truly consist of relationship with God and man. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating (for myself most of all!), that no vacation, amusement, entertainment, material gain, worldly recognition- can give our souls what they need to be nourished and content. Still they are a part of a balanced life, and when the Great One remains in center court, they become the proverbial icing on the cake. I hope all of you get a chance to rest and play sometime this summer, even if it’s only in your own back yard. And what a summer it has been so far! Sunny, hot, steamy. When February had a grip on me, and I was white knuckling it to March, I dreamed of this weather. I told you, I never complain about the heat. But I whine about the cold.

I think this particular blog post is kind of like summer: content light, relaxed, and somewhat rambling. When I think back on some of the things I wrote about in the winter, I exhale with relief. The major surgeries are over. Wound vacs, orbital plates and BLASTED fixators are past tense. Plastic surgery, rotator cuff repair and tooth implants are still in our future. For today, we will simply leave it all go for a bit, like tubing on a river with the Great One before the next push. From a writing standpoint, I am giving myself til September to consider how to turn this discourse into a book that tells the tale. And then too I will begin to open my mouth (you're shocked, I know) about the misery caused by drunk driving. Always laced in our story are the broad strokes of mercy and grace we have experienced.

You are all part of the story. That’s why I want you at the Smith Family Thanks You Dessert Night on October 23. And if you have any stories from your point of view about this wild ride, I’d like to hear them.

Look for your Guest Blogger tomorrow. I'm totally psyched for this excellent stand in. I’ll be back Saturday from the undisclosed location, Lord willing and the creek don’t run dry!

Your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann