rest for the weary

I went home for a long weekend. Took a day of vacation. I packed up on Thursday after work and decided to drive home that night.

I needed to breath.

The city was getting suffocating. I needed to escape from the people, the traffic, work, the pressure of the busyness, etc. It was a rainy and windy drive so not exactly a relaxing one. And as soon as I stepped out of my car, the gust of wind almost took my breath away. But it was almost refreshing.

And I was home.

I carried my bags and suitcase into the house and up the stairs to my bedroom. (Yes, I've been out of the house for 8 years and it is still my room. Benefit of being one of the youngest kids. :)) And then I went to sleep...in my twin bed...with my bright turquoise walls that I painted in high school...snuggled up in sweats...and felt relief at being home.

It was wonderful to not have a packed agenda while being home. No rush or pressure to get from one person to another...and that was great.

During my weekend I did the following:
-visited two of my siblings at work and my brother took us out for lunch :)
-picked up my niece and nephew from school (it was so crazy to go back to the elementary school that I attended!); the excitement on my niece's face when she saw me filled my heart with joy and love
-attended the HS football game
-watched my niece in the band halftime show
-relaxed at home with my sister
-saw a couple of very dear friends
-used a power tool to make some art

-walked around my parents' property
-felt God's peace and presence and healing power
-went to my "growing up" church (feels great when you can walk into a place and know you will see plenty of familiar faces- I don't ever have that experience in Mpls- people that know you and love you)
-visited my dear Grandma at the nursing home and while she makes silly comments (brr, that's hot!!) that make us all laugh; it is pretty sad to see how confused she is and how much her memory is failing her.
-watched a movie in the middle of the afternoon...just because I could!

I took some time on Saturday morning to just wander around and take in the beauty that is in the world around us. I used that time to let God pour His love over me as I soaked up the quiet and stillness. It was so healing for me.

There were definitely moments through out my weekend when I thought about a certain boy...and he did come to mind more than I thought he would. But God took care of me. And my heart is doing much better than last week.

I did miss my Dad's "welcome home" and "goodbye" bear hugs and my Mom's home cooking. It was pretty strange being home without them there.

But the weekend was exactly what I needed.