"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." So wrote Charles Dickens in his well-known book A Tale of Two Cities. That could also describe our recent trip around the country!
We returned home just over three weeks ago from an 11-week road trip. Since we have been home, we have been asked a lot of questions about the trip. The most frequently asked question is some form of what was your favorite thing?
Answering that question is more difficult than you might imagine, because in an 11-week span of time, there are many favorites, as well as many not-so-much. Now that the dust has settled and we are getting back into a routine, it seems a good time to pause and consider that question. What was your favorite?
Thinking about the bests and the worsts will be my topic over several posts. Today I'm thinking about some of the bests.
We saw many beautiful places. We ate some wonderful food. We stayed in a number of very nice hotels. But none of that is really my favorite. My favorite thing about the trip was the people. More specifically, my most favorite thing about this trip was getting to spend time with friends I haven't seen in a very long time. Because we have lived in as many places as we have, we are blessed to have friends in many parts of the country. Unfortunately, we didn't see all of them, although we reminisced as we passed near to where those friends lived. But we were blessed to spend some time with several dear friends as we traveled around.
In Nashville, we enjoyed time with Bill and Jean, and with Tim, Amy, and Eli. In Phoenix, I spent a lovely afternoon with Lisa. We had dinner with Karl and Ava in Missouri, and with Dave and Myra in Illinois, and we ate pancakes at Cracker Barrel in Massachusetts with Danny and Janet. We worshipped and had a lovely after-church visit with Rich and Linda in Illinois, and with Wayne and Linda in Georgia. Those good times with friends are among my favorite memories from this trip.
Time with friends was wonderful. Time with family, which I never get enough of, was even more precious. We spent Labor Day weekend in North Carolina, enjoying time with Brandon, Stephanie, and AJ. And we ended the trip with a much-too-brief time with Brian, Emily, and Christopher.
Reflecting on the trip, time with friends and family is certainly at the top of my list of bests. More bests tomorrow. Then we'll get to the worsts!
Today my focus is on friends.
Friends are one of the greatest blessings God gives to us, and having the grace gift of time with friends from days gone by was certainly a treasure as we traveled around the country. How thankful I am for every moment of the trip, but particularly for those special moments spent with friends, making memories to last until the next time our paths cross!
Friendship is very much in the forefront of my thinking today, as one of my dearest friends is in surgery today, taking the next step in her battle against breast cancer. If you think of it during the day, would you pray for Johanne, for her husband Jeff, for her doctors and all her medical team, for her family, and for all of us who love her so dearly. Many thanks for joining with us in prayer!
"A friend loves at all times." (Proverbs 17:17 ESV)
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