Leave of Absence

I've been gone a really long time....

I hadn't been home in 2 years. I knew this visit was going to be special from the second we landed.
My heart raced as I showed the kids the view of the mountains from DIA.
There was something about this trip that made it unique.
Maybe it was the fact that we appreciated life more, because of the startling realities of this year: the cancer returned, the crash happened, countless goodbyes were said.
2010 was a rough year.
That made this visit all the richer.
There is nothing like seeing the roots that God planted you in, go deep.
Long conversations over coffee with the people that know you more than you know yourself.
Cousins acting like siblings rough and tumbling and loving like they've never spent a day apart in their lives.
Sitting in the back seat, letting someone else tell you where you're going.
Someone telling you what is for dinner while they prepare it.
I have an incredible family, and I treasure them more than I think I ever have (and I've always cherished them).
God connected dots for me in my relationship with him that have been unconnected for decades (more about that in days to come).

It was an incredible trip!
Now there is work to do:
It was like God used the last two months to strengthen me for the year to come.
It's gonna be a wild ride... a homecoming, a house on the market, a cross country move to Cali and only the Lord knows what else.
I'm encouraged and ready, clinging to the grace of God and all of His promises in a whole new way.