Colorado trip...lessons learned

As I was choosing my favorite pictures from our Colorado trip last night, I was reflecting on a couple of things.

This trip was NOTHING like our vacation in November. Heading into this trip, I really thought (and I think Brad did too...a little bit) that this would be similar to our cruise. You know...no children, an adventure to a new place, no cooking or cleaning, time together with my husband. Now while all of those things were true, there were some significant differences...

First of all, while we were in Colorado, I was six weeks away from my due date and was strapping a rather large belly...instead of being just 18 weeks. This pregnancy has also been much harder on my body, and I have been very uncomfortable and my back has been killing me.

Second, the elevation change really affected me. The added weight and smaller lung capacity kept me from hiking as far or as fast as I'm used to going. I spent significantly more time in the car resting while Brad was gallivanting all over trying to get the best picture.

Third, let's not forget that we drove our little Honda Civic (a.k.a. "go-cart") instead of our Honda Odyssey. It was 6 hours from Brainerd to Bismarck, another 12 hours to Fort Collins, and 2 more hours to Colorado Springs. The drive from Bismarck to Fort Collins was really brutal...even though we stopped every 2 hours. Baby Girl DID NOT like being crunched!

Fourth, our focus for this trip was really on visiting people. We spent 2 days with my parents and took some professional pictures of them with Sammy and Caleb. Then we spent 2 days with our good friends, the Tomans, in Fort Collins. We had such a great time with them! Then we met up with our former missions pastor and his wife for coffee in Denver, and once we got to Colorado Springs, we picked up a former youth group student at the Air Force Academy and took him off base and out to eat. We also spent almost 2 days doing things for our friend's wedding. We had to pick up a gift, pick up Brad's tuxedo, go to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner...and then there were pictures and the wedding. We ended up only really having 2 to 2 1/2 days to ourselves.

Fifth, you really, really cannot compare a cruise to anything! Now while it was sunny and 40 degrees in Colorado, it just couldn't compare to sunny and 80 degrees in the Caribbean. Also, while Chick-fil-A and Sonic are yummy places to eat, you cannot compare it to food on a cruise ship!!!

Now while I am very, very grateful for this last trip together with my husband before Baby Girl comes, and very, very grateful to my parents for watching and caring so wonderfully for our children, I can't help but again be smacked in the face with one of my biggest struggles...unmet expectations.

Now, I do NOT want to complain...especially when I wish ALL of my friends could take a trip with their husbands...but I just need to confess that was upset because I didn't feel refreshed and I felt Brad and I did not have enough time together-just the two of us. I felt disconnected to him because some days I had to stay at the motel and sleep while he got up and enjoyed the mountains. Other days he was able to climb all over the place and I had to sit in the car. We also had grand expectations of listening to a bunch of books and sermons during the drive, but because I was feeling so sick and cramped in the car, we only got through one book...Francis Chan's Crazy Love...which I highly recommend.

Yet again, unmet expectations really destroyed my view of our trip...and left me feeling frustrated and disappointed.

Now, before anyone starts feeling bad for me...

DON'T!!!

I have NOTHING to complain about! My unmet expectations are my problem....

and my sin.

I was focused on what I wanted...rest, time alone with my husband, a break from my daily life as a mother and housekeeper...instead of enjoying the gift God had given us...

time together and time doing ministry and pouring into others.

My focus was out of whack. I was looking through "Jenny's lens" instead of "God's lens."

This trip was NOT about us.

It was about spending some time with my parents and appreciating them.

It was about loving and having fun with our friends, the Tomans.

It was about encouraging and loving our former pastor and his wife.

It was about hanging out and pouring into a former student and learning more about his college life and his many accomplishments.

It was about celebrating our friend, Todd's wedding day with him, his wife, and his family.

Our lives on this earth are so short. Our lives are but a breath compared to eternity. I do NOT want my focus to be on the temporary or on my own pleasures, but on other people and on the eternal. I don't want to be selfish, but I want to always be focusing on God's kingdom...to live life with a "crazy love"...to be focused on others...to give, give, and give to those around me.

Another lesson learned, and I praise God that He is continuing to grow and change my heart.

I thought about ending my post right here, but I had to include some of Brad's GREAT pictures. (I did title this post, "Colorado trip" you know!)

Brad spotted this (very skittish) bald eagle somewhere in Wyoming. It was a good thing Brad had his zoom lens, or we would have missed her all together.


What an amazing creature...


...and what an amazing God we serve!