Reminisicing - March 25-26, 2015

March 25-26, 2015

Reminiscing

We woke up with a prayer that Carl’s parents would be able to get into town today. Even though they were not here yet we decided to go to the springs to swim anyway. We wanted to take full advantage of our time at the springs. I had never been to a place like this before. I am familiar with pools and the ocean but this was a completely different experience.

I have been to the ocean many times but this was very different. I have even been to lakes before but again, this was different. The water was clear. I mean, you could see every plant and creature swimming in the water. It was unnerving at first. I mean, I knew there were sea creatures in the ocean but I could not see them in our Maryland and North Carolina ocean water. Once I got over the cold – the sign lied in that it said the springs were a constant 72 degrees- and the fact that I was swimming with critters, I had a great time.

I have always had a fear of my kids being in water. It stems back from when William was just a baby and Alex was a toddler. I was nursing William and Carl was watching Alex. Both of us got distracted and the next thing I knew I saw a man frantically pull Alex out of the water. He was okay but that instant of fear is something that Satan has used to be a stronghold of fear in my life. Whenever my kids are around water, I panic. I mean, my heart rate goes up and it almost borders on a panic attack. I have prayed about it and prayed about it and I have gotten peace about it. But sometimes that feeling of utter fear arises when the kids are in the water. It is something that I am constantly battling when the kids and I are around water. I know, it seems silly. Some have told it is an irrational fear and it is. Every time I know that we are going to be around water those feeling arise and I play that scene with Alex being pulled out of the water all over again. It is a constant battlefield for me.

I ended up having an amazing time in the water with the kids. I generally had the little ones with me while Carl had Daniel and monitored the older kids. The water was deep right off the steps but once you waded further out it actually got much more shallow. It came up about mid-calf on me and even Tirzah could stand up. It was interesting me carrying Caleb and Tirzah past the deeper part into the shallow part. I was much more sandy in the shallow end. The little ones had a great time and so did I. There were times when the panic arose if I could not account for all the children. But I was constantly praying all day long. We were there for about 3 hours in the morning and then went back to the campground for lunch.

We decided to split up after lunch with the girls and me going to do laundry and Carl and the boys going hiking/fishing. I went just up the road less than ¼ mile and put the laundry in. We then decided to go to lunch at the local diner. We had a great waitress and ordered pizza and ice cream. While we were waiting for the laundry to dry we went to the Dollar General and shopped for a couple things. By the time we got back Carl’s parents were getting into their site and unpacking. It was great to see them. We enjoyed a great dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers. It was good to fellowship with Carl’s parents.

We woke up the next morning and planned to go to the springs. After a breakfast of Nini’s famous chipped beef and gravy we headed down. It was cold again but we had a good time. Carl’s parents had a great time remembering how everything looked when Carl’s grandfather stayed there. Some things had changed and some had not. Apparently the entrance had changed and the wall of the springs. We had a great time for lunch that Nini made. Chicken salad and chips. The vultures and squirrels got very close during lunch. You could tell that they have gotten used to eating human food. After lunch we got back in the water. For dinner we had beef stroganoff. It was great talking to the people in the campground. The night was cut short as the skies opened up and a storm blew through.

It was clear the next morning. We knew we had to leave Friday morning. We got up and got the camper all ready to go. We were on the road soon after lunch and we hit a really bad storm on the way out. It was great driving through the Ocala National Forest. We drove out to the storm but it kept catching us. We spent most of the trip going into the storm and then out of the storm.

The plan was to get to Cape Canaveral by dinnertime. I was so excited as I have been waiting to get to Kennedy for many years. My dad worked for NASA for 40 years. He started at Wallops Island and then moved to Goddard Space Flight Center. He worked in the maintenance plant. He is very proud of his work history. We grew up loving all things NASA and paying very close attention to space events. When the space tragedies happened I remember my dad crying. It has always been his wish to get down to see Kennedy. He really wanted to see a shuttle launch but that never happened. He got sick and had to retire. He has always had a lot of pride in the NASA program and the fact that he worked there. When Carl asked the one thing that I wanted to do when we visited Florida, I responded with visiting Kennedy.

We drove to the military campground near Kennedy. It was called KARS. We pulled up and the guy told us to pick any spot. We pulled up and saw one right on the bank of the river. We pulled right in and rushed to get set up before the storm we had been going in and out of hit the campground. It was very short lived and we were able to enjoy the wonderful evening. We could see the Cape Canaveral base from the site. It was the most beautiful view we have had from a campsite. William was in heaven as the fishing was right off the shore. We ate dinner and he immediately went fishing. He had a few bites and caught a few things. While he was fishing we saw a dolphin swim right up to the shore line. We actually thought that he was going to be beached. He was apparently after a fish. It was a great evening of enjoying God’s creation.

I have been absolutely amazed at the things we have seen on this trip. God has really shone himself in a mighty way this trip. We have seen a wonderful display of God’s creation. I have been praying that the Lord would show himself mightily on this trip and he has answered in incredible ways. A lot of times when we are in the hustle and bustle of everyday life we often overlook God’s creation. We get so busy in the day in and day out things we do that we often miss the things that God has for us to see. This trip has really shown me that when we ask God to show up, he will. Every day he puts his mighty power on display. We just have to stop and watch.