Reflections on the Journey

After accomplishing such an amazing feat as traversing across this great country all the way to the Pacific ocean and back, one might say I've experienced a bit of a let down. I remember feeling this way, only to a much greater extreme, when I finished my bicycle trip across the country, way back when I was younger and stronger and well, immortal...or so I thought. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

First I need to put the finishing touches on the last leg of the trip. We drove from Denver, CO to Kansas City, KS on Saturday, July 24 arriving at my brother and sister-in-law's house around 7:30pm. It was a long, long day of very monotonous scenery which made the drive seem to go on forever. But, we had a wonderful meal and good conversation with Jim, Christy, and Jenna (my nephew, Jimmy was on a mission's trip with his youth group). We stayed 2 days with them, ate great food, enjoyed their new house, and left for home on Monday, July 26th at 6:45 a.m. Kansas City time.

The day would be the longest yet as far as miles, but it proved to be rather uneventful for the most part. Up until we were just 4 hours from home that is, and heading into Indianapolis, IN. Oh Indy, I now loathe you entirely. Just as we were coming in on I-70 east and just before the Ronald Reagan Parkway, BAM, one of the tires on the camper blew out. Interestingly enough just minutes before, I actually had noticed something different about how the camper was handling. But it was one of those subtle differences where I just wondered if maybe I was imagining things. I should also note that I felt the same thing right before the truck tire blew. The "feel" was off. I guess when you travel 6400 miles over all kinds of terrain in an SUV named Capt'n Jack, you begin to feel at one with said vehicle.

Anywho, I managed to pull off the 3 lane highway full of drivers who seemed to think they were actually in the Indy 500. I called AAA and we waited an hour for help to arrive. In the meantime, we tried to stay out of the truck since Jodie, our newly permitted driver, said that when you have car trouble on a busy highway, you should not stay in the car. I pulled out some beach towels and the kids sat in the grass while I stood and kept watch for our rescuer. While standing in the 85 degree heat, I felt something crawling up my leg and found a tiny tick looking for just the right spot to burrow it's ugly head. The kids decided to take their chances and got back in the truck.

Finally help arrived and within 15 minutes we were back on the road. I have since come to the conclusion that I need to practice changing my own tire because I could have accomplished the task and been back on the road much faster than it took to wait on AAA. Now we were without a spare for the camper and since the remaining tire had also traveled the 6400 miles thus far, I felt it best to buy a spare. So all in all, the ordeal detained us about 2 hours. Ugh. 2 hours makes a lot of difference when you're on the home stretch. But as usual, the punks were in good spirits and not a discouraging word was heard.

Once back on the road all went well. But, I must admit that I was preparing for the worst. For some reason, I couldn't help but think that the other tire was going to blow or something awful would happen such as the engine blowing up or some other ridiculous disaster, and a twinge of fear began to eat away at my insides. Why is it that we, or maybe it's just me, even after having experienced several amazing miracles and acts of grace from such a loving God, somehow allow doubt to creep in to the depths of our soul? The miles seemed to tick away ever so slowly as I waged a battle of "what ifs" in my mind.

As we drove up I-69 north and entered Michigan we all began to cheer. Now we were only an hour away from home. But that nagging doubt continued. I just wanted to get home, but now it was getting late and the sun was beginning to set. What if the other tire blows and we're stuck on the side of the road in the dark? God has taken care of us this far, He will continue to take care of us all the way home, I continued to tell myself. To the west an amazing sunset was beginning to take place. As we drove, the sun began to streak vibrant shades of pinks and purples through the clouds. I believe it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, and I've seen some pretty outstanding sunsets over Lake Michigan. But this was electrifying as the streaks of light shone through the clouds more magnificently than anything I have ever seen. "Look you guys", I said, "God is welcoming us home with this beautiful sunset. He's throwing us a welcome home party!"

Even as I said that I still had this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach reminding me that most accidents happen within just a few miles of home and it's getting dark, and that other tire's got to be getting worn out and what if...... Finally, as if God was talking right to me, these words popped into my head, "What do you want me to do, stand on my head?" I laughed to myself....or really at myself. What a dork. God had provided and cared for us for over 6400 miles and His majesty and power were being poured over us in this beautiful sunset and yet I was still allowing doubt to pervade my thoughts. "Ok, knock it off", I thought to myself. "With all you've been through, when has God ever forsaken you?" I'm a slow learner I guess.

Once we turned on to M-60 the kids really began to come alive, each reminding the other of different landmarks and how many miles that particular one was from home. Then, like I wrote in the previous post, as we came into town I began to call out greetings to all of the buildings. "Hello Frosty Boy!", "Hello Spring Arbor University!", "Hello McDonalds!", "Hello Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church!". What a great feeling it was to pull into our very own driveway and know that this night we would be walking into our own house, brushing our teeth in our own sinks, showering in our own shower, and sleeping in our own beds. Home....there really is no place like it.