What Now?

So what happens when life changes drastically?

When everything around you is crumbling to pieces and everything is falling apart? Your anchors have been rudely uprooted and you've been sent drifting with nothing to hold you down?

All you hear about is everything you're doing wrong and instead of assistance, all you feel is criticism?

When all you've ever known is suddenly different than anything you've ever known?

And your world expects you to go along with the new flow without question. What's the problem?

Arnold Bennett said that "Any change, even for the better, is often accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts." That's putting it mildly, Arnie.

I hate change. I abhor it. I detest it. All because I fear it.

Fear it, you say? Yes, I'm scared of change. And when I'm scared, I tend to lash out. *gasp* Yes, I admit it, I am a beast when it comes to change.

And my life has been stressful for...9 months now?! So on top of that, I'm supposed to stare Change in the eye, shake it's hand and welcome it into my bosom?! And no, I am not talking about people, per se. I'm talking about change in general.


So although most everyone knows how stressed I've been lately, they seem to still expect me to take life's gut punches with a smile. NEWS FLASH - I am only human. A very imperfect one, at that.

So to all those who have borne the brunt of my "lashing out", I apologize. It has not been intentional.

In His Eyes

For some reason, this thought was in my mind last night as I waited for Sweet Sleep to visit.

In Isaiah 53:2, the prophet says, " For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form or comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him."

We've always heard that scripture but in my mind, I always wanted Jesus to have at least one redeeming quality. Other than the obvious fact that He was/is God. :)

And last night I realized that what I would term as an "attractive feature" about Him would have been His eyes.

Think about it.

The same eyes that watched the worlds being formed from nothing. The same eyes that shed tears in the Garden of Eden so long ago. And countless times after. The same eyes that flashed in anger at the Israelites and their rebellion. Not to mention the rest of us heathens. The same eyes that saw you and I, during our first moments of our life. Imagine the secret smile He shared with the angels! The same eyes that, dripping with blood, followed the path He would soon take up the Hill of Golgotha. The eyes that smiled down on the disciples, promising His soon return.

I honestly would have loved to stare into the eyes of the Savior.

Right after that, something flashed in my mind. Wouldn't those same, loving eyes know exactly what is in my heart at that time? Wouldn't those same eyes burn with condemnation knowing the state of my soul? And every single sin that I have ever committed in life? Wouldn't those eyes show me who I really am...not who I pretend to be?

I paused, thinking to myself, "No, that's probably more than I could handle!" Never mind!

Then...

"But if I repent and the Blood that He shed now washes me clean, He doesn't know my sin anymore!" Right?!

"For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." Hebrews 8:12.

So maybe what I would be seeing would just be my own refection staring back at me. They say that the eye is a window to the soul. So maybe His eyes would be a mirror that reflects my soul. In which case, I would be unable to turn away. Imagine seeing yourself for who you really are. No facades or masquerades. The only condemnation is your own. He would simply stare at you and every facet of your spiritual life would be revealed.

Makes me wonder, would I really be able to handle it?

Aww! it's over!

So, I'm finally rested up from our vacation.

Yeah, it took an entire week. :)

So, where was I at? Key West.

Wednesday was our last day in Miami. And that happened to be the most gorgeous day of all! It stinks. Or stunk. We said our goodbyes to Dale (who is the most awesomest big sister in the world! Lyda and I claimed her as ours. lol) and headed north.

Our first stop was Daytona Beach. Which was the most beautiful beach that we'd been to so far! And it was so disappointing because we couldn't stay too long because we had a hotel reserved in South Carolina. *pouting* The sand was white and powdery and the water very clear. No seaweed! We sooo were not expecting Daytona to be so pretty. We were just gonna pop in and out, just to say we'd been there. Oh, well. Jen and I console ourselves with the fact that we will go back. As we headed back to the highway, we got stuck on a bridge because some guy on a bike decided to pick a two lane bridge to collapse on. The police stopped traffic and I have no idea why I'm mentioning this. But the weirdest part was, a man was walking from the scene and passed our car, smiling really big. As if he'd had a part in the other guy's predicament. Super odd.

Anyways, so next was Savannah. But we got into town when it was dark so we could not see a single thing. Wednesday was turning out to be a drag. So we drove around for a while (don't ask me why, the sidewalks were already rolled in for the night) then headed to Charleston.

Our hotel was located in Isle of Palms, north of the city. We checked in, tossed our bags inside, then headed out to find something to eat. Jen found a man at IHOP. I'm not sure if he came from the islands or not, he couldn't seem to make up his mind. :) After giggling for an hour straight, we headed back to the hotel. Only to be stopped by a bored cop. Hey! I was only going 14 mph over the speed limit! He was nice, though and gave us a Spring Break discount! Apparently he stops quite a few Texans in that area. Watch out for him, ya'll.

The next morning, at 6:30 sharp, Jen and I awoke to her alarm clock. Lyda did too but she rolled back over. lol We pulled on our hoodies and tucked our cameras in our pockets and headed out to welcome the sun. Except he (Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun) chose not to grace us with his presence that day. But we had fun walking the beach. Searching for seashells. Trespassing on a private pier. (that was Jen, not me. wink, wink) Taking pictures of one legged birdies. And dead starfish. Then getting caught in the rain walking back. That was fun.

We visited a fort, just for the fun of it. It was fun!

We checked out of the hotel and went to see Charleston. I drove around for a while, while Lyda was learning to be a photographer (that chick seriously needs a camera) until I found what I was looking for! Rainbow Row. I could not remember what the name of the street was so I couldn't put it in the GPS but I figure, how could we get lost in Charleston?! Anyways, we'll be back, Charleston. No worries, buddy.

So, since Jen wanted to see Savannah during daylight, we headed back to Georgia. Where it was raining. We drove down River Street, bumping along the cobblestones, but we didn't have umbrellas so we didn't get out. We got smart and went to buy some. We found a nice little Italian restaurant and had lunch/dinner and by the time we were done, it was not just raining anymore. It was pouring! And I got to walk in the rain for the second time that day! I love the rain, can you tell?! So Jen and Lyda were cursing me during the 5 block dash to our car. *sigh* They just didn't come prepared. I had boots on, but they were wearing flats. Who wears flats on a rainy day?! lololol Just kidding. So by the time we got to the car, we were pretty much soaked. It was great.

And then we headed home. Driving the back roads of Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama at night was an interesting experience, I tell you. Well, I assume it was. You'd have to ask Jen. She was the pilot this time. lol. We even stopped the car at one point, Just so we could stick our heads out the window and check out the stars. Simply amazing.

And that was it. It was the most awesome Road Trip ever! Pictures to come soon!