Checking In Quickly

I apologize for my long silence.  We were just getting settled in after our eventful camping trip when we received the word that Paul's Uncle Ed went to be with Christ last Tuesday morning.  After weighing the options, we decided to travel as a family to Myrtle Beach for the funeral.  The kids knew Ed and loved him very much, and we were flexible enough in our schedule to be able to drive down together.

We left last Thursday and just arrived home again last night.  I think we spent more than 32 hours in the van in the last several days, but it was a good trip.  The kids are amazing travelers, and I don't think I heard a single complaint the whole time (although Paul's "Car Bingo" helped us pass many hours as we searched for all of those easy-to-find items like a West Coast license plate and a dinosaur)!

I'm extremely glad we all went down.  Despite the sad reason for a reunion, funerals have the effect of bringing many family members together in one place.  Along with spending time with Ed's wife (Paul's Aunt Linda), we saw two of Paul's uncles, another aunt, two cousins, and all of Paul's siblings.  We also had the opportunity to love on Paul's mom and dad for a few days.

Ed's favorite song was Michael Card's "Immanuel", and it was my privilege to play that song along with other favorite hymns and songs at his funeral.  He has been quite ill for many years although his death was still unexpected.  I think we are all rejoicing that he is no longer struggling physically.

The Lord was gracious to us on our long drive.  We have literally driven thousands and thousands of miles over the last thirteen years and have never once had a mechanical difficulty with a vehicle.  About four hours into this trip, a sensor in the van went out, and we ended up at a dealership somewhere along our route.  Two hours later we were back on the road with a new sensor that was covered under our warranty.  (We were less than 2,000 miles away from the end of the warranty when the sensor went out.)  Praise be to God for protecting us and allowing the problem to be fixed quickly.

Now we are back home settling in again.  Since we were in Myrtle Beach, we did take the kids to the beach on Saturday, and we made a couple of trips to the pool where Paul's parents live (more x's on the bucket list!).   I'll try to post some pictures in the next few days-- as soon as I figure out our new camera.  (Our old camera never did recover from the shock of the canoe incident!)

So on we plod, being reminded again that life is fragile and fleeting.  We don't know much, but we do know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  Ed's healing is finally complete, and for that, I am very thankful.