At the beginning of the year, we had decided that this would be the year we started scheduling some rest for our family. We have never taken a vacation in Thailand and when we are back in the US we always somehow find a way to turn every trip into a work trip. But the kids are growing at an alarmingly fast rate and we decided to make a change and schedule it. Thailand is still closed to tourists, which means the government has been promoting domestic tourism, so we decided to take advantage of the deal before the country opens up again in the future.
We drove 20 hours to get to the beach and see the breathtaking beauty of God’s creation. We lived in Hawaii for 3 years, and thought there couldn’t be anything more beautiful. Until we were here. And I’m sure there are more beautiful beaches in the world, but so far these beaches in Thailand have become our favorite. And it was only one of the many beaches!
When we planned the trip, we didn’t know the timing would not be ideal. The day before we left for our trip, Kerri’s dad underwent lung surgery to remove a tumor. He told us he was so happy we were finally taking a vacation. The surgery went great, and with minimal oxygen he was able to breathe on his own. Unfortunately, over the next few days, he started having heart trouble, was put in a medically induced coma and then began having seizures and strokes that ultimately led to his passing away. On our second day at the beach, Kerri lost her dad and the kids lost their Papa.
At first, we had an immense sense of guilt for being on vacation while this was going on. And even though there was nothing we could do aside from praying (which truly makes a difference!), it still wasn’t easy. But also, in some ways, we were thankful to be at the beach during that time, looking out at the beautiful, majestic sea. For us, to look out into the ocean is to experience the goodness, nearness and bigness of God. We can’t help but be in awe and wonder of how the same God who created that also cares deeply about us. He knows our name. He calls us His. He holds us in our joy and He holds us in our pain.
As we looked out into the sea, we felt God’s presence and knew He was near. He was near us when we couldn’t be near family. He was near us when we had questions and He was near us when we cried out. And the beautiful thing is, even though we are back home now, 20 hours from that beach, He is still with us. He is still holding us and He is still near.
And so, even though our vacation wasn’t the rest we were hoping for, and July didn’t turn out to be the month we had planned, we still trust. We trust that the rest we did get will sustain us. We trust that we will carry the beauty of creation in our hearts and remember how He loves us. We still walk forward in trust that we made the right decision to stay here during Covid…even though it meant not being able to travel back to the US to be with family. We still trust that God is good. We still trust that God is able. We still trust that God holds our hearts. And we still trust that God is near.
In what ways have you felt the nearness and closeness of God? Have you been able to draw close to Him during this Covid time or has that been difficult for you? We would encourage you to take some time and just be with Him. Remember and reflect on the times you felt Him near and thank Him for those. If you can unplug and get in nature, even for a few minutes, we would encourage you to do so. Listen to the birds, feel the light breeze, look up at the wonder of all the stars. As you do, our prayer is that you will again feel His nearness and remember His great joy in you!
As we honor Kerri’s dads life life from this side of the world, we would just ask for your prayers of comfort for our family as well as Kerri’s mom. We also know that the reality of his passing may not fully present itself to us until we make our first trip back to the US and he isn’t there grilling steak tips and getting Big Blue ready for us.