Just keep driving...

Last summer, we learned a valuable lesson: Just keep driving. It was okay to be overwhelmed, brokenhearted, grumpy. It was never okay to stop. There were times when the money ran out. We got in the car anyway. Other times, we were emotionally and spiritually exhausted. We got in the car. It was always hard leaving friends we hadn't seen in a long time. We didn't want to go, but when it was time to go, we still got in the car. "Just keep driving", we'd tell each other.

Just keep driving when God changed the itinerary. Just keep driving on long desert roads with no exits for hours. Just keep driving up the steep grades that challenged the car, or on the monotonous flat plains, or, when it was time to leave, away from the breathtaking lakes that tempted us to linger.

The past nine months have been rough, mostly consequences of the surgical accident that almost killed me 2 years ago. Legal battle, poor health, memory problem. Depression hit in the fall. Apathy about God. Wanting to drop out of grad school with 1 semester to go. Fearing I'd fail out of grad school with 1 semester to go. Losing a friend through my own stupid behavior. Losing a cousin through tragedy. Just keep driving.

There were wonderful things as well. Things that tempted me to stay like a high altitude lake or like old friends in the midwest or Seattle. Things like a fiance and a coming wedding and a new family that I adore. Things like newly discovered adventures and hobbies, and a new "brother"-in-law, gained through my roomie's surprise wedding. Hard to leave. Hard to miss. Just keep driving.

There will be lots of things pulling at us this summer. More friends to leave, more heartbreak and financial problems. Glad God taught us the lesson early on. Just keep driving.