October 7 – “Definitely not now”

Leaving San Antonio must have been more depressing than I thought it would be.  I must have looked bad.  As we drove down Interstate 10 Chris looked over at me and said, "Are you tired?"  It was first thing in the morning, so I knew the answer to that one.  "No."  Then she asked, "Are you bored?"  Well, that hit home.  I hate driving on interstates, so I answered that one, "Yes.  How can I get off the interstate?"  She pulled the map out to find an answer.  And before she found it she added, "Are you hurting?"  Now that's not fair.  She already knew that answer to that one.  How does she already know those things?  I didn't answer.  Guess that solidified it.   We passed a few notable landmarks on I10.  Screaming Woman Creek was a favorite.  The other was a festival that I can't believe we passed up.  They had a huge sign up, big enough to be seen from the freeway.  Not bad for a small town.  Oh, the sign.  It said, "Koi and Goldfish Festival."    We finally turned off the interstate and headed for beautiful downtown Flatonia, Texas.  Our good friends Anne and Bill moved there awhile back, so we decided to surprise them.  Actually they moved to Praha, Texas, but they don't have a post office there.  We tried to call, but out in the middle of nowhere we had no cell service.  I had looked them up on the internet the night before, though, so we had a map.  But we were beginning to question the map.  It was way out there.  We finally found their street and the first house we came to matched the address we had, so I pulled in.  Chris refused to get out until I verified it was really their house.  So I rang the doorbell and Bill answered.  Actually, he was so stunned to see me that he had a hard time getting the door open.  They have always been incredible encouragers, and they have only fine-tuned their skill.  It is always a great joy just to be around them.  We saw two deer running through their fields out by their ponds which are stocked with bass and catfish and visited often by herons.  Anne loves that because it reminds her of Galveston.  They took us to visit one of the churches on the painted churches tour.  No, I've never heard of it either, but it's now on our list for next April.  It was a beautiful Catholic Church with all kinds of handcrafted items in it.  Then they took us to eat at the Railroad Track Café.  Great hamburgers.  Just like they used to make them years ago.  We even got to see the church they are attending.  Anne helps cook Wednesday night suppers every week.  Bill is in the choir and Anne is the self-appointed greeter.  Perfect.  As we left they even pointed out a little antique store, so of course we had to go check that out.    I refused to get back on the interstate when wee left, so Chris mapped us out a backroads route to take next.  Our next stop was at her brother's house in Victoria, Texas.  They didn't know we were coming, either.  They run a nursery there, so we left with a few plants.   Chris got a phone call shortly after we left that caused her stress level to skyrocket and we abandoned all hope for that elusive "relaxed."  Definitely not now.  It seems we probably have to go to court to probate her Mom's will because of some of the wording in it.  Not what she needed to hear.  All the stress and raw emotion of the ordeal with her Mom came rushing back.  All the good of the last week seemed to drain away.  OK.  One day at a time.    Psalms 126:2 says, "Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.  Then it was said among the nations, 'The LORD has done great things for them.'"   Father, I know "joy comes in the morning."  I know you are in control of all things.  Please take some of this stress.  Amen.