Tomorrow we leave for 8(?) days of visiting family in Michigan and Wisconsin.  It is sort of last-minute…as in it has only been a thought for about 2-3 weeks.  I will get to see all of my brothers and sisters (with the exception of one sister-in-law), but the main impetus for this trip is to see my big brother, who will be coming from North Carolina to visit my parents.  We haven’t seen him for 2 years, and in January, he is deploying to Afghanistan for a year.  It seemed like almost a necessity that we forgo our natural tendency to want to plan a trip like this with more advance notice and planning so that we could be there to see him.

Still, it is stressful for me.  I don’t like packing…more specifically, remembering all of the odds and ends that, for whatever reason, can’t be packed until the last minute.  I don’t like the thought of traveling for upwards of 10 hours tomorrow, after already having an early morning because of Friday school, with a baby girl who is decidedly not fond of her carseat.  And while hotels and eating out are highly anticipated by our children (I think there will be some lobbying for IHOP pancakes and Culver’s butter burgers…which are as bad-for-you and delicious as they sound) the price tag, cramped quarters, “lost” time, and completely thrown-off routine that come with them is hard to look forward to with a light heart.  I will be happy to spend time with both my family and Tim’s, but I am honestly already looking forward to being home.

I guess that’s how life works, though.  On most days, I could give you a long list of reasons why I would want to take a spontaneous vacation.  Home can be stressful.  Routine can be taxing.  Just being together as a family in a place where our extraneous responsibilities are minimal is often very appealing.  It’s easy for me to long for something other than my portion for the day.  I suppose it could be seen as a typical “grass is always greener” scenario, and I couldn’t argue with that.  The other truth of it, though, is that I will always be lacking something as long as I’m on this earth, and that’s not a matter of perception.  This life isn’t meant to fulfill me.  There will costs and difficulties associated with just about any worthwhile endeavor.  I need to remember, though, as I think about each day and what it holds, that I have a God who has promised to strengthen me and lift me up, and who will cause each day to work for my good.

So, now, despite my internal urge to go hide in a corner, I will do what needs doing and trust that God will sustain me and help me even in my prone-to-wanting-greener-grass outlook.