I mentioned recently that Amy and I are embarking on various disciplines during this Lenten season, and although I am not certain that I spelled it out, one of those is reclaiming more of our relationship with God by reclaiming time with each other.
Anyway, the Gomez family will be moving out on the 15th (the apartment complex delayed things by five days or so) and then Amy and will have the house to ourselves for a short while before men with jackhammers invade. Our foundation is in dire need of repair and they will literally be evicting us from most of our downstairs while they do unspeakable things to the interior of our house. There will be noise, dust, and strange men walking about.
Being the intelligent, romantic guy I am, I thought this would be a perfect time to take a vacation...although we really don't have the funds to go anywhere I thought we could at least hole up together upstairs or spend every day at the movies. We really feel somewhat obligated to stay close enough to home to keep an eye on the people drilling holes in our living room and bedroom floor.
Truthfully I can not really imagine us enjoying solitude, much less each other, with a scene from The Money Pit playing out in our little love nest.
I was still kicking around options today - we could move into a nearby motel but it seems like such a waste to spend money in the same city where we live. We even considered camping out in our church Sunday school building which has showers and such.
The idea of romance in the Sunday school building however brings up an entirely new set of issues...and could quite possibly ruin our Biblical education for years to come. The more I think about it, there is a chance it could shatter the psyches of any number of people so I think I will stop thinking about that completely.
Then God surprised us...through our eldest child, Tiffany.
Our brilliant daughter who is getting her Masters at Harvard (have I mentioned I have to mention Harvard every time I mention Tiffany?) sent us a very sweet note thanking us for following what we feel is the call of God over these past six months. It was very touching and it alone would be a priceless gift.
However, along with the note she included a gift certificate for a striking Bed and Breakfast in the Texas Hill Country. It is close enough to our soon to be construction zone for us to be able to rush home if the contractors strike oil or something, yet secluded enough to give us the opportunity to feel like we are really getting away in order to have a chance to listen to God.
Since we learned today that the Gomez family will be staying in our home a few days longer, that this gift also arrived today was absolutely amazing.
As always, the timing of God is perfect.
Bless you Tiffany and Father God thank You so much for blessing our lives with such loving children.
