Yesterday we poked along through the hill country looking for our friends’ house.
We got lost on dirt roads, and our fancy phone maps weren’t much help.
A quick call to our friends for good directions and we set out again, finally arriving with whoops and hollering from the backseat.
Stepping out of our car, we stepped out of our usual daily lives, away from phones and emails and church business and into a glorious day of fun.
The kids shot pretend arrows at one another in the woods when the sun was out, then played flashlight tag when night fell.
The men tended a big fire and talked in that rambling way men like to, leaving so much unsaid, and yet, they both understand it all.
The ladies sat under blankets, coffee in hand, and we chatted about our lives, emptying our hearts and minds to one another as women do.
Later we shot skeet (that was really fun!), ate steaks cooked over the fire, and roasted marshmallows under the stars.
Mr. Fantastic and I rounded up our children and headed back into town.
As we drove I thought of the stars we had gazed up at, just hanging in the sky. We were awestruck. The longer we looked up, the more stars we saw, and the brighter they became.
Sometimes it takes a trip outside your typical life to remind you that there is more than just what’s in front of you. We rarely look up like that in the city; the lights and noise block out the beauty of the sky.
Yesterday, all day, our family looked up.
We came home to laundry, school preparations, church admin meetings, dirty dishes, and necessary errands.
As we tackle our list of to-do’s today, my heart still feels tied to the sky. My hope for 2013 is bound to Him who cast the stars above us.
This year we move forward, but we look up, in awe of the God who loves us, came to die for us, and awaits our hearts as they return to Him.
Thank God for a day in the hill country.
