Incredible Views

Greetings from the Seattle airport!  I am on my way home to Newtown after a week and a half of family vacation in Alaska!  It was a great time to be away and intentionally spend time together.  Although we had some early mornings, I enjoyed sleeping in late a few times on the cruise.  When did I last get 11 hours of sleep in one night?!

At each one of our Alaskan ports, we had amazing (and atypical!!) weather… 80 degrees and sunny!  We were able to try a lot of new things that got me out of my comfort zone: ATVing in Denali National Park, canoeing to the base of the Davidson glacier, riding behind an Iditarod team at a summer sled dog camp, and ziplining in the rainforest canopy.  When I got my gear/sat down/got clipped in, what else could I do but GO?!  And I was really glad I did.  The views were incredible and the experiences unforgettable!

In a way, these excursions are like the new stage of life to which God has led me.  There are new people, places, and opportunities ahead of me.  Sometimes I feel like I’m way out of my comfort zone in preparing to live on my own in another country with people I hardly know!  But, what else am I to do but EMBRACE this new calling?!  I know I’ll be glad I did.  There are exciting and rewarding benefits to following God’s leading.  Maybe not breathtaking views of national parks or extraordinary wildlife, but most certainly evidence of His faithfulness and continued guidance.

The bald eagles soaring over our cruise ship in Alaska reminded me of God’s promise to strengthen His people: “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:30-31).

I can’t wait to see the incredible views.