Day 23

RELAX & ENJOY THE RIDE

Life can take us on some wild, wild rides. Our job is to get on, get in, hold on, sit back, and trust that someone else is in charge of the travel. We can get whipped around, bounced back and forth, twisted around, turned upside down, or even just have to sit and wait for the ride to continue on. We need to exercise trust, faith, perseverance, and endurance and the best way is with hope, grace, and confidence. 

I am happy to say that Wade has finally arrived at his destination today. He has been on a wild ride of his own and I only know a portion of what he's been through. He'll be sharing each Friday in his own postings. He's now got his own room, his own bathroom, and high-speed internet which are all steps in the right direction. But his journey may still hold hidden curves, speed bumps, or obstacles. Neither he nor I know what the future holds. It's all in God's hands and we need to exercise our faith in His perfect plan. 

But Wade has taken some pretty awesome REAL rides lately too. The following picture is of the land between Basra and the Persian Gulf taken by him while he was riding a blackhawk helicopter. I can't wait to see other pictures that he's taken. This is beautiful! 

I spent my day today with other women at my church doing a service project. We cleaned out and reorganized their large kitchen. I learned how to use a large, industrial dishwasher. The seven of us had a great time cleaning, sorting, scrubbing, talking, and polishing. Most of the kitchen is stainless steel and it actually was shining when we left. We also drove to Wendy's for a wonderful lunch too. I was tired out, but it was a good time and I'm glad that I went to help out.  

We did, however, get some very sad, tragic news about another ride that ended very, very badly. Two sons of our youth pastor, Andrew and Abraham, were driving in a car and were involved in a head-on collision. The driver of the other vehicle did not survive the crash. The older boy, only 17 and a driver of one month, was care-flighted to Miami Valley Hospital. He had been pinned behind the dashboard and may lose one of his legs. His younger brother, age 11, suffered head injuries and was taken to Children's Hospital. We stopped right then to lift these boys and their family in prayer. I have not gotten any more updates since this afternoon, so I don't have anything other than that to report. 

We just don't know what type of ride we're on from day to day. My goal is to make the best of it and believe that everything happens for a perfectly good reason even though I may not understand it at the time.