Cold

It's cold outside. It's been cold for a while now. It's winter in Missouri so it's supposed to be cold. But for some reason the cold has been more cold to me lately. Not only am I physically cold but as this month rolls along toward another February I think I'm getting emotionally cold. I've been thinking this week about what we were doing this time 3 years ago. Bonnie, the girls and I were in Williston, ND talking to First Baptist Church about possibly joining them in ministry.We were well received. The possibilities were exciting. The environment was going to take some adjustment for us with the extreme cold, snow, etc. It was a fun trip for the four of us. On the way home we took a little detour through the Badlands and on to Mt. Rushmore. It wasn't crowded there. It was very cold. We had fun walking around the monument. Not sure Kayla had as much fun as the rest of us. A little too much walking for her. We were excited to be there though because "National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets" had just been in the theaters and we were trying to find where they did some of the filming. We had been blessed by dear friends at FBC, Paris with some extra cash, which made this side trip possible. We stayed at a nice hotel with an indoor pool. Our room was right by the pool with entrance to it from our room. It was very cool. We were talking and praying about the possibility of moving. The girls didn't like the idea but were willing to go IF God called us there. Kayla was pretty sure God was in it. Alicia was hoping He wasn't. I am so glad that God gave us that last trip together. I miss them a lot right now and I suppose with February quickly approaching again that this is normal. I am still not a huge fan of this new normal though. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to this roller coaster. I'm not a huge fan of roller coasters to begin with but this is worse than riding Space Mountain at Disney. If you've never been to Disney, Space Mountain is an indoor roller coaster in the dark. You can't see where you're going or what is coming up next.The first time you ride it is the freakiest but then you get use to it and you can anticipate what's coming. There doesn't seem to be any "getting used to" experiences in our new normal. Especially when it comes to the emotions. The comforting thing about all this is that God is with us. He sees the big picture and He says He'll never leave us or forsake us on this journey. 


This Mark Schultz song is needed now:
And even though I'm walkin through
The valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when all hope is gone
And I've been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need 

And He will carry me