Okay, so I wrote this yesterday on the plane, but the thing about being a gazillion feet in the air and flying over a desert is that there is no wireless connection. However, all this holds true today except the part about actually sitting on a plane.
I’m sitting on the plane on my way home from Las Vegas.
Oh yes, I have become quite the jet setter.
Unfortunately, I made a critical error and didn’t check in until I arrived at the airport, which placed me way down in the dregs of category B boarding. As I walked on the plane, I searched frantically for an aisle seat because, hello, claustrophobia issues.
Much to my dismay I now find myself seated next to some people who apparently indulged in too much Indian cuisine and adult beverages last night. The smell of scotch and curry is thick.
I’m not worried that they are reading this over my shoulder though because it’s safe to say they are out for the duration of the flight.
So now I’m just sitting here, breathing through my mouth, listening to some Christmas music because my iPod is on shuffle and it found its way to some holiday tunes. Who knew Christmas music could be so enjoyable in early September?
Oh, iPod. You know me better than I know myself.
Anyway, it was a great weekend in Vegas. I arrived around noon on Friday and Sophie picked me up at the airport.
We checked into our hotel and then immediately went in search of Mexican food because that is what we do. The concierge recommended a place called Lindo Mihoacan and the only reason I know how to spell it is because I still have the receipt from lunch. I couldn’t pronounce the name right now if you offered me a $106.
It was the first time I have ever been in a Mexican restaurant that didn’t know what I was talking about when I tried to order chips and queso. I was frightened for my palate.
I mean I once ate at a Mexican restaurant in Wisconsin and was able to order queso, which, granted, Wisconsin is the cheese capitol of the U.S. but still as far away from Mexico as one can get.
Which probably explains why the restaurant was called Charlie O’Brien’s Cantina.
The point is we ate a queso-less lunch, but did have some decent guacamole so all was not lost.
After lunch we hit the strip and played the slots for the next 24 hours.
Oh sure. Like we’d have that many quarters.
We spent most of the weekend at the Deeper Still event and it was incredible. Over the next week, we’ll be putting a lot of video and pictures up over at the Allaccess blog if you want to check it out.
You know, the last two years of my life have brought some huge changes. I resigned from my job and we became a single income family, which is a tricky proposition when that single income is based on a business that comes with seasonal fluctuations. I have been stretched and challenged in ways I couldn’t have imagined and have had my share of nights where I’ve been awake at 3 a.m. wondering how things would ever work out.
But in the midst of all that have come some of the biggest blessings of my life. I’ve seen God provide for our family in ways I couldn’t have imagined. After years of feeling trapped in a job that never felt quite right, I’m getting to do something that I enjoy.
And yes, there are still days and circumstances that are a struggle, where I still feel like I’m being pushed way beyond my comfort zone. I’m still learning to walk by faith and not by sight, which is hard for a semi-recovering control freak.
But like Priscilla Shirer said on Friday night, the purpose of the journey isn’t necessarily to get us to the Promised Land, but to get us to draw closer to God.
I find myself more drawn to Him than I’ve ever been in my life because He is where I find my provision. He is where I find my strength. There have been so many times in the last two years that life just hasn’t seemed to make sense unless I look at it through eyes of faith.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately worrying about what will happen or what won’t happen, and I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this once or eight hundred times, but I’m not a big fan of change.
But that’s life. It’s about change and it’s about trusting Him in the midst of those changes.
Even if some of them are as jarring as going from Travis Cottrell singing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” on your iPod to being blasted with “Mary, Mary” by Run D.M.C.
On Friday night, Priscilla shared this verse from Job 42:5, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”
By the grace of God, my eyes are learning to see. To really see Him.
Oh that they would see Him more.