Trip Of A Lifetime Of Love

I don’t know if it’s getting older that makes me more nostalgic than ever or if it’s having so much more time to think since being retired from nursing. Either way, these days I find myself cherishing sweet memories of childhood and holiday traditions and especially my parents.

I know I am blessed beyond measure to have both my parents still here with me on earth. My dad will be 86 this year and my mom 82. They’ve been married almost 61 years! Even though the Lord knows the number of their days, I do not, and so I cherish the time we have left before one or all of us leave this earth!

My parents are as close to perfect parents that two people could be. That doesn’t mean they don’t have flaws and that they did everything perfectly. It just means that all the good so far outweighs the bad, that it’s easy to just focus on everything good. Shouldn’t we all be doing that anyways?

The Bible tells us: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8

My parents have given me so much of what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable and excellent and worthy of praise that there is no room left for anything else that just doesn’t matter anyways. Fixing your thoughts is a choice and a discipline the Bible talks about a lot. Every action, behavior and habit starts out with a thought.

I have worked hard on my thought life the older I get and the more I’ve learned to apply Gods Word to my life and circumstances, not to just knowing it. Knowledge is fruitless without application.

The more I apply it, the more God reveals to me how too, even when it’s hard. So much of life’s sorrows is lifted and replaced with the peace of Christ when we fix our eyes and our thoughts on Him. I digress though.

Back to my wonderful, adorable, generous, loving parents. My parents and I have all battled cancer in the last 5 years and overcome! They are aging and I see the window of opportunity that is still open for now and wish to spend precious time with them while they can still enjoy it and before anyone goes to our heavenly home.

Last summer we got to spend over a month of time with them between two trips they took to visit here in California. During that time, my husband and I got away for a long weekend with them to our favorite place in San Diego and had such a wonderful time. This year I presented them with several traveling options and they really loved the idea of renting an RV and traveling around the US. The more we talked about where we would go and what we would see, the places started to get crossed off the list as the list of family grew longer which naturally expanded the locations. Isn’t that the best part of life anyways? Family.

So we are going to embark on a fun journey this month, my mom, my dad and me. It will take us throughout Texas to Florida/Alabama, up through Tennessee to Ohio, then to Illinois and across to Colorado, Nevada, California and then back to Texas through Arizona. In each of those states we have anywhere from 1 to 4 stops to make to visit family. By the time we are done my parents will have got to visit all their living siblings, and all their out-of-town children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. And a few extra family members and friends as well. This was the trip that meant the most to them. The people. The lives that God blessed them with here on this earth.

They could have chose Sweden, Europe, Canada, London. They could have chose National Parks, Monuments, museums, Niagara Falls, and more. But what they really wanted was to see the people they love and have invested their time and gifts into here on earth!

We are going to have such a special trip and have so much fun together! I am honored and blessed to be able to take them on this trip and spend this wonderful family time with them. As we journey, I will record about it on FB and maybe write a blog post or two. We are so excited. This is the stuff!

Thank you God for my parents, thank you for not taking them home just yet and allowing us the ability to take this grand adventure of love and family!

Cherish the ones you love, take advantage of all the moments life gives you. That is where our true treasure lies here on earth. Don’t waste it!

To God be all glory, our hope is in Jesus! So we can be assured that even after this life we have all eternity together in heaven! Praise be to Jesus!