So far we have traveled about 4500 miles, been in 16 states, and slept in 18 different hotels. Along the way we have seen some spectacular scenery and eaten some amazing food. And we've had some that wasn't so great!
This really is quite an adventure, and one I'm grateful to experience.
This journey is also filled with life lessons, among them, an appreciation for all that is part of our life back home.
This morning, as we dropped off several bags full of dirty clothes at the hotel front desk, I really found myself thinking about, and missing, my washing machine! Washing machines are among the things in life we tend to take for granted. But life on the road gives a new appreciation for things like washing machines.
I miss my own desk and my own chair and my own bed. This journey has brought great variety in all those areas. We've had very large rooms, and very small ones. We've had suites, some large and some small. In all those accommodations, sometimes the furniture is comfortable and sometimes not. Sometimes there's plenty of room for all our "stuff", and sometimes not. Sometimes there's a great internet connection, and sometimes not. We are currently experiencing the worst internet access of our entire trip. It took most of the afternoon yesterday for the hotel to get it to work at all!
So, life on the road has challenges and frustrations.
Life on the road also brings with it new experiences, like "Montana Meatloaf" (which was amazing) and bison ribeye. It brings the opportunity to see new places, like Oklahoma and Arizona, and to revisit places like Yellowstone National Park, where we enjoyed some of the beauty of God's creation. As we mapped out our route from Seattle to Denver, we had two options. We chose the northern route which took us across the panhandle of Idaho, through parts of Montana, and down through Yellowstone into Wyoming. That route featured some spectacular scenery (you can follow me on Facebook to see the photos), including sights like these:
And life on the road means waking up and looking out the window to see this, as we can do here in Denver:
Life on the road means getting my clothes out of a suitcase instead of out of a closet. It means I don't have my own comfy chair or my own washing machine. It means my food is ordered off a menu and cooked by someone else, rather than being prepared in my own kitchen.
Otherwise, life on the road is pretty much like life at home. There are good days and some days that are more challenging. There are days when I feel great, and days that are not so great. There are days when everything goes according to plan, and there are days when nothing seems to go quite right.
It's all part of life. Life is a journey. Good days and bad days. Smooth roads and potholes. Uphill and down hill.
In the good times and in the bad, whether at home or on the road, this journey we call life is a gift! A treasure! A race to be run all the way to the finish line. A marathon, not a sprint.
And through it all, in the good times and the challenging times, God is present, blessing us with grace gifts along the way, and He is at work in our lives, for our good and for His glory.
"The LORD's lovingkindnesses never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB)
"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him." (Philippians 2:13 NLT)
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