We arrived back in Milwaukee late on Wednesday night after what felt like the longest day ever. We woke up at 4:30 a.m. and left our hotel in Cairns on Wednesday morning in Australia. After a 2.5-hour flight to Sydney, a 5 hour lay-over, a 15-hour flight to Dallas, a 6-hour layover, and a 3 hour flight to Milwaukee we landed at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday night.
Wait, that's not possible! Oh yes it is, thanks to crossing the International Dateline. Time travel baby! However, that also means that we were more-or-less awake for over 30 hours. Add a few hours after we got home to put away all our junk because we had potential buyers coming to see our house the next day and you have two very tired travelers. Yipes!
Over the course of our trip, we took 7 flights, a lot of buses, one round-trip boat ride, a train and a skyrail. It is Friday and I still feel like I'm moving even though I'm sitting still. Crazy!
Speaking of moving while sitting still, we got to experience this in the weirdest way. While we were on our long flight over the Pacific Ocean, the little tv screen on the plane would show us our flight path. While we were sitting still on the plane (and ok, yes the plane is moving), most people went through an entire day. They were all up and moving and going about their business whatever that may have been. It kind of baffles me. And to think that God is watching over everyone? Just another reminder of what a great big God we have.
While traveling in Australia, I read a number of books including "Same Kind of Different As Me" co-written by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. Be prepared that you might cry a lot while reading this book. It was recommended to me by my friend Kalie. This girl has the biggest heart and a strong faith. I knew that if a book was Kalie-approved, I would love it! And I did. And I cried through most of the second half of the book. Life-changer.
Anyway, without giving too much of the book away, I just want to say that every character in the book goes through hardships. Some aren't that bad and some are truly awful. Some hardships they tackle together and some they each have to do on their own. Throughout it all, their faith helped them overcome whatever was handed to them. It made me think of Job in the Bible.
Job was a faithful man who had a very nice life. Then the Devil made a bet with God (Lesson one: don't bet against God) that he could make Job turn away from God. (Lesson two: don't be stupid). Job suffered through the loss of almost everything in his life from family to his home to his health. (Lesson three: don't take anything for granted). Despite being encouraged to just give up (Lesson four: surround yourself with faithful friends - not wimps), Job stood firm in his faith. He knew that no matter what happened, he had a savior who would not give up on him. I used this popular verse as my confirmation verse (Job 19:25-27):
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.Hear that? After everything goes wrong, you've still got a loving savior, a redeemer. Pretty amazing.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
Update on Grandma: She is now in home hospice care. Our family is holding together. Thanks to meals, love, support and prayers, we're getting through. I don't know how my wonder-mom does it all.
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