Summer Lessons

Since we work for CRU (new name for Campus Crusade for Christ), there's a good chance we will always be away from home for most of our summers.

This summer we were in Lake Tahoe, CA from June 1-July 14 and knew we wouldn't be back home until August 7 after other travels we needed to do, too. Telling the women in my Seattle mom's group about our plans, they were all baffled. "You're going where? For how long? With (at the time) 6 month old Braydon?"

I must admit, it's a bit out of the ordinary. If I had the choice, I would never do it.

I like our home. I like that we have 2 bedrooms-one for Bryon and I and one for Braydon. I like that we wouldn't have to figure out what to do with Rylee, our dog, or spend hundreds of dollars shipping her across the country to family members. I like my washer and dryer. I like our community and I like Seattle-especially in the summer. I like all my pots and pans. I like our changing table for Braydon. (I think we changed Braydon's diaper ten times on the ground in parking lots).

Yet, God has called us to work with CRU and this is part of our job. Not only that, we get to be a part of seeing God transform the lives of college students. To see God rescue them from lives of seeking their own glory and living lives leading to destruction, to living lives loving and knowing Jesus and being set free from all the things that don't satisfy. We get to help them see Jesus...to know and experience that life is found in Him.

When we arrived in Lake Tahoe, I learned that we had a one bedroom condo. Ugh. However, I learned that there was another family there with 4 kids living in a 2 bedroom condo. Hmm. I suppose our one bedroom with one baby is sufficient.

We made it work. Braydon slept in his pack n play in the closet...a make-shift second bedroom.

When we left Lake Tahoe, we stayed in a dinky hotel room in Ely, Nevada. Since Braydon's bedtime is 7:30pm mountain time, after he went to bed we were left with very few hang-out options. So we put on his noise maker, covered 1/2 of his pack n play with a blanket, wore head lamps around the room and watched a movie with no sound and subtitles. Success.

From there, we went to Grand Junction, CO and did the same thing as we did in Ely and then got a one bedroom hotel room in Breckenridge. It was awesome to watch tv and hang out with lights on and Braydon sleeping peacefully in the bedroom.

Currently, we're staying with friends in Bozeman, MT and our friend Charissa has graciously let us 3 stay in the master bedroom.

8 days and counting until we return home to Seattle.

Reflecting back on the summer, if we chose no to do it, we would have missed out. I wasn't excited to be gone all summer and have less than desirable sleeping arrangements....but you know, we made it work and God's grace has covered us. It hasn't been perfect. Braydon no longer sleeps through the night, but he only wakes once. I'll take it! We were able to build deeper friendships, be a part of God's sweet work and grow in our relationships with the Lord.

Summer lesson: it's ok. We'll figure it out. It's worth it to be stretched and out of our comfort zone and to make fun memories. God's helping to loosen me up and to believe that He will take care of us. I'm grateful, too, that God provided me a great husband who cares for Braydon and me and will do whatever it takes to take care of us.