God is so good.  Honestly, I am just moved at how he can answer prayers, and I feel so blessed to have so many people always praying for me.  I cannot believe that I allow myself to doubt, even for just a moment that he will not provide as he promises. 

Anyway, I just had to start the first night’s blog with that, because of the peace that he just gave my heart. A wave of comfort is not what over-came me upon my check-in a few hours ago, but I barely had time to let the panic and fear start leaking into my veins before I got a text from one of the individuals I met in April through the church.  She just offered up a futon and spare room at her place if I need it for free, so I am just insanely thankful that I really won’t have to stay here in this hotel longer than a week!!!  I am also thrilled that I didn’t even ask to stay – I had just texted her to ask if I could sit with her a church in the morning and let her know I was in town! 

Anyhow, yesterday evening I made my way to my cousin’s house in Nashville.  I am always so happy to find that no matter how much time has passed between seeing my extended family, it always feels like home when I visit them.  My cousin is a year older than me, and the few times we spent together growing up were always enjoyable.  Now, she has two little girls of her own that welcomed me with giggles and hugs even though they honestly have hardly met me.  Little kids are so adorable because of how genuine they are with what they are feeling.  They didn’t even want me to leave this morning, so I definitely stayed a few hours longer than I had anticipated because I was having such a great time just catching up.  

Amazingly enough, I still made great time from Nashville to my destination even with the late start.  I got on the road a little after 9am and arrived a little after 7pm.  The weather was perfect for the entire drive just as I’d been praying.  All the rain and storms were north of where I was, or swept over after I’d already driven through.  Honestly, to make it through three states without any bad weather is a blessing. The fact that my brother and I had already taken the drive back in April with great weather too, it just … it is just awesome.  I also did not get tired or start falling asleep at the wheel, so that was a big blessing since I am pretty sure I have serious symptoms of narcolepsy according to wikipedia.

I wanted to put down some thoughts from my drive as I was thinking then:  

Have you ever noticed how many butterflies you see when driving?  It just seems like recently they are everywhere.  TN had these beautiful little yellow ones fluttering on the sides of the road, and occasionally a large black and orange one.  I mean, they have to be so huge for me to see them so far away….but they are beautiful.  Honestly, they are just so peaceful to watch. 

I40W is rather boring outside of the amount of butterflies I saw.  Memphis has some cool buildings; St. Jude’s Research Hospital and a very large glass window pyramid that you pass before crossing the bridge to Arkansas.  The bridge is actually quite nice, though I am confused to see exits for Memphis after I have crossed into Arkansas??  Is Memphis in TN and Arkansas?  Arkansas is actually rather flat and sort of marshy looking….a little like Florida really, only there is nothing like the beach to make it worth visiting.  Once you hit I-30W though, the highway is lined with large, gorgeous pine trees and the drive is more scenic like that of KY.  There were a few moments when a gust of wind blew leaves from a solitary tree right onto the path that I was driving & it made me kind of hopeful for fall weather.  Then, I hit Texarkana…which again, confuses me a little.  Is it Texas or Arkansas?  I don’t really know….border towns without a bridge must be even more confusing.  Once in TX though, the drive is a little confusing. There is a lot of country in East Texas.  I made a pit-stop at a creepy gas station where there was a giant spider web all on the side of the pump…with a creepy spider in it….and the wind blowing like crazy.  If I hadn’t been on empty and worried there may not be another gas station for thirty miles, I would not even have gotten out of the car.   I made that stop as quick as possible, and then my destination was barely forty minutes away.  I am happy to have made the entire trip in daylight hours. 

Tomorrow will be a new day.  Church in the morning and then the supermarket for plastic utensils & possibly even some school supplies since that is sort of the reason I’ve taken this adventure to TX.  I’ve remained relatively calm and assured by faith thus far, though realistically, it will probably take a week to sink in that I’ve just done something, which until now, I had only dreamed of doing.  It is now a dream no more :).