Breathless and pausing to breathe!

Two weeks have flown by and I find myself caught up in the preparations to embark, but not without tying up loose ends on the homefront. Several have asked about John and what he will do while I am gone. The freezer is stocked with meals for him to eat, but if my past experience is any indicator, they will still be there when I come home! Those of you who know John well, know he won’t turn down an invitation to dinner, nor does he show any shyness about soliciting such an invitation, so I am not concerned about his well-being in that regard : ) and I am thankful for those who will look out for his interests. He will be working here in Idaho until the last couple weeks I am gone, when he will fly to Detroit to spend time with his two sisters, and our plan is to fly back into Salk Lake on the same day, with our flights currently scheduled to arrive 20 minutes apart.

Others have asked how I can be away from work for such an extended period. I have three answers. One, I work for a healthcare corporation that has service as one of its foundational tenets, it is a not-for-profit organization that itself donates millions of dollars of charitable care annually to the communities it serves, and those of us who work are strongly encouraged to be involved in charitable service, and are supported in those efforts by allowing us time to do so. Two, since I still have to maintain my benefits eligibility, I have saved the paid time off hours I have been earning to use while I am gone to Africa. Three, someone has to do my job while I am gone. So one of the reasons I am currently somewhat breathless is that I have been working my own hours AND the hours my replacement will work for these last two weeks before I go, so that I can get her oriented and ready to fly on her own in my absence. Tonight she gets that chance and I will have a pause to breathe!

All of us know that dancing is strenuous exercise and if we do not pause for a breather, we will collapse. I have been getting breathers. John and I are still walking together in the mornings at which time we catch up on what’s going on in our lives and pray together. For the four mornings of this week, our path has led to the local swimming pool, which opened this past weekend after a five year hiatus to be refurbished. I have loved the 40 minutes of laps in the warmed pool beneath the clear, cool morning, mountain air with the sun rising and moon’s image fading. God’s so gracious to us! He is doing for me what the psalmist recognized: “God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.” Psalm 23:1-3 The Message

Today, I am off work and plan to get all my bags packed. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings I will work my own shifts, and Monday we will leave for Salt Lake City. And. “I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in [you] me, will carry it on to the day of completion in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6