It’s the middle of the night, and I am wide awake. Going over to Japan I was pretty pleased that we switched the time change without too much fanfare.
Ed and I are finding the switch-back difficult. Hunger hits at all the wrong times.
Since I’ve been intermittent fasting for about five years now I didn’t think I’d have an issue with hunger, but this trip has put me in a different zone altogether.
A trip to the airport happens this morning, Cheri is off to her Alaskan island. I will be wide awake for the early drive.
I have many thoughts about our trip, many impressions. There is a news story about a teenager from Alabama who is lost in Japan right now. I pray he is located. He left Kyoto on May 29, right while we were there.
I have thought about anxiety a lot. Separation from loved ones is my biggest thing to cause anxiety.
Brian died on a hike in New Hampshire. Nine miles. Appalachian Trail. Totally unexpected, sudden, shocking. My brother and his second wife died by the hand of a drunk driver. Totally unexpected, sudden, and shocking.
Death and separation like this is always traumatic.
Ed and Cherie chose a day to climb/hike a nearby mountain/hill (about 600 feet) while we were in Japan. I asked them to text me every few hours, just to keep connected.
They did.
At the airport I watched a drama unfold where two elderly grandparents were left with the luggage of their children and their grandchild. Boarding started, the grandparents were both in wheelchairs, their son (or daughter?) nowhere in sight.
After everyone else was on the plane the younger couple appeared. They actually acted miffed about being rushed onto the plane!
Drama. Human drama. I am sure this plays out over and over at airports and places of public tension where deadlines are met. I felt anxious whenever Cheri or Jeremiah left me for period of time beyond my expectation.
Anxiety is normal, and God tells us to not be anxious.
I know this. Deeply.
When I feel anxious I start “gratitude mode.”
“Thank You, LORD!”
If I am able, I list all the things I’m grateful for. If I am desperate, I cry out in my spirit—“THANK YOU, LORD!”
Over and over, I cry out, and say it under my breath. His Spirit comforts me EVERY TIME!
I’m sure there are practitioners of Eastern thought that would explain this “mantra” of mine, and its effect on the body, but I know, deep in my heart, that it is only God.
I love to travel, but I must deal with the anxiety that comes with it for me. I can honestly say that God shows Himself to me greater during my travels, and this is such a joy in the end!
Taking Cheri to the airport this morning is not as anxious a prospect as it was last year. She has done this before. Yes, there are bears and other dangers on the island, but I feel strongly that she is in the Lord’s hands. I need not be anxious.
Fear is something a Believer need not have. The Bible says to not be fearful 365 times. I love quoting that little Scripture Knowledge fact. Who am I to be fearful?
Sun is rising and we need to get her suitcase into the truck.
Pray for that young man to be found in Japan.
Pray for Cheri on her summer work adventure.
Pray for me as I reset my buttons after the school year end and the spectacular trip.
God is simply so good. Whom shall I fear?
MARANATHA!!!