Road warriors...

The Brothers H have driven about 3400 miles with me in a three week period. Technically, the last 1000 miles (Little Rock to home) were the most difficult. It was the longest drive I've done with them on my own. Rand had bleeding diaper rash. Fifty percent of the brothers lost an article of clothing to poop incidents along the way. We had to stop for the night three hours earlier than I intended. The next morning I had to stop 3 times in the first 3 hours.

BUT, it was our best road trip to date. I decided at the beginning to not focus on getting there but to enjoy the trip, such as it was. What if I didn't just try to survive these two days? Could these be good days? There were some challenging moments, but I didn't flip out on the kids.* For this jar of clay, that is evidence of the power of prayer - really. And we had some great moments - Rand laughing, Jacob sharing his last lifesaver to "make God happy," Bryan crying because he needs somebody to hold him, listening to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with David, watching the three big boys play on an unexpected playground in Tennessee.

This is how I want to do this stage of life - not surviving until Rand is two, until they're all in school, until everyone sleeps through the night, until no one needs help in the bathroom, until no one has accidents, until, until, until, ... I want to be in the moment with them, redeeming the time. I want to live the way Jesus did - surrounded by need but not frantic, never in a hurry. How's that for a God-sized task?

* Disclaimer - This is not meant to imply that I was never verbally irate on this trip but merely that I never launched into a full-fledged flip-out (generally beginning with "Oh my freaking word...").