FROM CANADA TO FLORIDA

AN EXCERPT FROM THE "HOLY EXPERIENCE" BLOG HAS BEEN PASTED BELOW. THIS FAMILY TRAVELED FROM CANADA TO FLORIDA WITH SIX CHILDREN IN 23 HOURS. EXCUSE THE ALL CAPS, BUT I'M TYPING WITH ANNA GRACE IN MY ARMS. THIS MOTHER, ANN, WHOM I DON'T KNOW AND HAVE NEVER CONTACTED, HAS MY UTMOST RESPECT. SHE SEEMS TO DRAW LIFE FROM THE LORD IN EVERY MINUTE OF HER DAY, EFFORTLESSLY. VERY INSPIRING. I COULDN'T SING A HYMN TO SAVE MY LIFE (DIDN'T GROW UP IN CHURCH AND HAVE NO VOICE), SO I TURN TO CHOCOLATE FOR THE STRENGTH SHE DRAWS FROM SONG. I DO THANK MY LORD FOR THE CHOCOLATE THOUGH. LOL

South of Atlanta, Shalom unscrewed her lid and doused Kai with icy water. Malakai howled and banged Levi’s head and the back of the van sobbed and the middle of the van grumped nearly as loudly over the spike in decibels. Parents in the front attempted comfort at 65 miles an hour and I questioned (only now?) the sanity of this crazy escapade (23 hours of driving with eight people in a mini-van and a stash of tuna sandwiches.)

The words Farmer Husband had prayed quietly in the morning, the two of us with bowed heads in the chill of a Georgia dawn, navigated me in the right direction towards the sunshine state: “Children are a blessing from You, Lord – cause us to have Your perspective today, Lord.”

As Kai wailed louder and Shalom hollered, “I just want to get there right now!” I smiled thinly and ask, “Hope, can you pass out the hymn books?”

When you receive a blessing, don’t you celebrate with song? (And too, song is this thing that the angels do, and when I’m slipping fast into that pit of mother madness, hymns are stairs of ascent.)

HER WRITING IS POWERFUL, PERFECT, POETIC. I ESPECIALLY LOVE THIS SENTENCE: "And when I'm slipping fast into that pit of mother madness, hymns are stairs of ascent."

WHAT ARE YOUR STAIRS OF ASCENT? PLEASE SHARE. AND VISIT HER BLOG (FEATURED ON MY SIDE BAR) TO READ THE REST OF HER THREE SHORT VACATION ENTRIES, AND SEE SOME BEAUTIFUL PICTURES FROM THEIR TRIP. HER BLOG COULD PROBABLY WIN AWARDS FOR ITS PHOTOGRAPHY.