Ray and I embarked onto the interstate late, Thursday (4/13) evening. We had had some things to straighten out before we got started and it took longer than we had hoped. Driving in the dark proved to be stressful. Ray had difficulty seeing and I was nervous about getting in an accident. Somehow, we managed to keep on track. My mom eagerly waited for updates and it was of comfort to know she was praying for us. To sleep we pulled into a rest stop around 3am and put our seats back. It was not the most comfortable accomodations but it was better than driving straight through. We drove a bit more after that but pulled over again to get some more sleep. Finally, after as much rest as we could stand, we were on our way. The other side of the highway was packed…silly people heading south. 
It seemed to go by so quickly, simply because I was excited. I knew what was waiting for me on the other end. Washington DC was a mess. The belt we were in was more like a parking lot. However, we eventually made our exit. New Jersey was full of tolls. Finally, we hit New York. At this point we were barely keeping our eyes open, so at one point we made a wrong turn and ended up across the Tapan Zee Bridge. That cost another $4 and the guy was rude. Toll people are grouchy. Anyway, it was of great relief when I finally saw the familiar sites of the town my family lives in. My mom picked up the phone right away (which meant she had sat up) and excitedly told me she would make sure dad was surprised. We pulled up, I ran up the stairs and gave dad a big hug, and he was so happy. It was wonderful. The rest of the week I was so happy to be with my family. I even got my Wednesday outing that I miss so much with my mom (her day off–we would go shopping and hang out).
It seemed to go by so quickly, simply because I was excited. I knew what was waiting for me on the other end. Washington DC was a mess. The belt we were in was more like a parking lot. However, we eventually made our exit. New Jersey was full of tolls. Finally, we hit New York. At this point we were barely keeping our eyes open, so at one point we made a wrong turn and ended up across the Tapan Zee Bridge. That cost another $4 and the guy was rude. Toll people are grouchy. Anyway, it was of great relief when I finally saw the familiar sites of the town my family lives in. My mom picked up the phone right away (which meant she had sat up) and excitedly told me she would make sure dad was surprised. We pulled up, I ran up the stairs and gave dad a big hug, and he was so happy. It was wonderful. The rest of the week I was so happy to be with my family. I even got my Wednesday outing that I miss so much with my mom (her day off–we would go shopping and hang out). The trip there, despite some stressors, was pretty smooth. I was enthusiastic and upbeat about our destination. Early, Saturday (4/22) morning we pulled out of the driveway and waved goodbye to my family, standing out in the rain. It was hearbreaking. Ray and I faced steady rain, mixed with heavy downpours from New York to Virginia. If it let up, it was not for long. This made the trip go much slower. You cannot go very fast when the car in front of you is hardly visible. Finally, we broke out of the terrible rain and found blue skies and sunshine in North Carolina. This eventually passed as well. Somewhere near the border of North Carolina and South Carolina, black clouds appeared. Concerned, I called my mom to make sure it was just rain we were heading into. We found out there were severe storms in the area, and in the area of Florida we were heading for, tornado warnings. So, I started panicking. I absolutely, positively, HATE storms. Poor Ray got flustered the more I got upset. My mom stayed on the phone with me, trying to get me to relax. She suggested we pull into a motel for the night anyway, because we had been on the road all day, and rain with dark is a bad combination. We took an exit, but did not find the motel it had said was off of it. I heard thunder, and saw flashes of lightning. This only made me more tense. Ray turned the car around in the middle of the road, but in doing so accidentally put the car in park. He pulled into a gas station to look under the hood, while I sat in the car, watching dark, black clouds rolling in behind us. Across from us the field was blanketed in black, and lightning rippled through the dark. We still had my parents on the phone at this point. Mom prayed with me as we drove into another downpour, and toward some nasty weather. Ray managed to find a motel though, and we soon were inside and updating family members as to where we were. Thus, our trip home was interrupted. The sleep was welcome, but then we had the daunting task of getting through South Carolina, Georgia and part of Florida the next day. God blessed us with wonderful, sunshine though. It was a welcome site, thought part of me still feared it would disappear like the day before. The drive took forever. It just felt like it would never end, and the sad part was, I was not looking forward to getting home. It was just something that had to be done. There was no excitement, only relief when I walked through our front door.
I don’t know what it is. A lot of people think it would be great to live in Florida, or couldn’t care less how far they lived from their parents. I’ll straighten it all out, I am sure. To make matters worse, we have had several car expenses pop up and I just feel so bad about the whole trip. Now everyone is shaking their heads and saying we should not have gone. That hurts because it meant a lot to me. Ray does not regret it and I suppose that is what matters, since he is the one who planned it as a gift to me and my parents. Oh and we have a new couch… I wanted a new couch because the green and white stripes on the other one was ugly…However, getting a new couch was supposed to take care of the ugliness factor. Ray loves it, but I hate the colour. It is like brown/green…and I shuddered when I heard his mom describe it. I’ll either get used to it or find a tarp to throw over it. I could just be sensitive because of the emotions that have rushed through me over the past week. It was quite an eventful drive home. I loved my visit and I will try to think happily on the visit. I just feel guilty doing so. Oh well. It is our lives. Our lives are in God’s hands. There is no better place for them to be.
I suppose it is just a matter of trusting that those hands will continue to guide and provide. Out of all the winding roads and highways we embarked on this past week, I guess the hardest road to travel, is the one less traveled, the narrow. It’s easy to lose faith and blame the suffering on God. It’s easy to accept that He’ll continue to allow us hardships and somehow make us wish we had not gone to New York, as if it was the worst idea ever. That is not truth though, and I hope I come to realize that as rough as things are right now, there is a loving God watching out for both Ray and I. He got us there safely, He got us home safely. God’s hand was in this trip and I had a blessed Easter. I had a great time with family and friends. That is what I shall take with me!
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