Sat. 01.05.2008

So the real adventure has begun. Yes, the adventure of driving across the country is over and I do have sense of regret that I’m not still traveling on that particular adventure. However, I will not miss sleeping in a different hotel each night, or the hassle of packing the car every morning, just to unpack it each night. (The same seeming lack of productivity that keeps me from making my bed in the mornings)

I’ve unpacked everything; though I do need to make a run to Target for some clothes hangers. I’m settling in and things really couldn’t be going any better.

There are still thoughts of the trip running through my head and the reality that I’m now three hours behind most of you, has definitely not hit me. I know there are a few of you who are celebrating that you can now call me at 11 PM and actually find me awake. However, some part of me feels like I’m living in some strange reality, where time is relative. I can’t explain it or put it into words, maybe it is just a symptom of “driving lag”.

So, as I think back on the trip there are tons of things I learned along the way. God and I had lots of time to talk. If you never use alone time in your car to talk to God and more importantly be quiet enough to let Him speak to your heart, I’d highly recommend it. I have to admit that I came on the trip with enough music and audio books on the I-pod to last for 2 trips across the country, but I found a lot of the time I was just so amazed with the beauty around me that I preferred the silence. Silence has a strange way of making time slow down. It has a unique power, unlike any other, in that it actually makes me slow down. That is not something I do often, but I think it is something I’ll be doing a lot more of now. There is something about being still and silent that allows my heart to feel things. Maybe they are things I feel all the time, but I’m just not quiet enough to hear them, or maybe it is actually the silence that brings them to the surface for me to feel them. Either way it brought to mind the verse: “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) There is something about the stillness and silence that makes me keenly aware that God is. Not that God is ___ and then fill it in with whatever adjective you want, love, peace, powerful, Savior, Healer. No not that kind of God is (which He is), but the fact that God is. He just is. He exists. When I am still and silent I am able to know that He is. While there are other challenges in life, knowing that He is puts things into perspective.

Oh yeah, there are no pictures from yesterday’s drive. I’ll explain: It was snowing part of the way and while the scenery was beautiful there were two reasons I didn’t take pictures. (1) I was in a hurry to make it over the mountain passes (I like the one named Snoqualmie Pass) so that I didn’t get stuck with and unplanned extra night on the road, and (2) I had been lectured by several of you about taking pictures from a moving car. Honestly, there is no way I would have done it yesterday; the little bit of snow on the road mixed with the curves made it way to dangerous – yes, even for a professional multi-tasking driver like me.

Let’s see there is so much more to share, but I can’t blog it all now (and I haven’t processed it all yet). I’ll share more in the days to come. In the meantime, here is the answer to the “How many deer?” question from the Thursday 01.03.2008 post. I count 8, but the one farthest right on top is only an ear. I had the advantage of having seen it move. I know you were all just hanging in suspense for the answer weren’t you?