PennyDaisy

 

                              
Now I know how the children of Israel felt on their mass exodus. 

 

Recounting our journey:

~at least the Israelites didn’t have “gestapo” police making them go on certain roads.

~left home at 5:46am, Thursday; destination: Grandma’s house in north Austin.

~15 hours (including some stops) from our driveway
to hers.  Ouch.  At least most of it was spent on county
and FM roads which were much cooler, and prettier.

~thought we’d never get off Hwy. 6…spent six hours in Sugarland
going about 3 mph., trying to keep the engines cool and the gas
conserved by not running the A/C.

~Spy Game was an ironically appropriate soundtrack for
trying to get out of the Houston area.  It even worked in
stop-and-go traffic.

~thank God for Microsoft Maps and Streets and a laptop that
works.  Our route was not so indirect as it felt, we just went a
little further north before coming to Austin through Georgetown and
Round Rock.

~I didn’t care how long it took, I was so happy to be on those back
roads.  “Scenic” agrees with me.  Shelly and I laughed a lot
and listened to Iron Will and Spy Game, Jars of Clay, and Switchfoot.  Then some Miles Davis toward the end.

~I think I’ll have to live on a ranch somewhere out between Chappell
Hill and Caldwell, out by Lake Somerville.  FM 1155 is
gorgeous. Lots of hills and trees, little towns.

~sometimes all it takes to make you happy is finding a bathroom that’s open.  Clean and no waiting is a bonus.

~got gas at a full-service station (in Caldwell?), made me really happy.  Sometimes you just need to be taken care of.

~only ran the air on dirt roads and during the hottest part of the
day (2:40 – 4:00), when I started to feel sick.  Had to roll the
windows back down later when Pebbles started to feel sick.  Dogs
must need the wind to go with the motion.

~The mice perished, either of heat or fright (their box was waving
around in the backseat on top of Pebble’s carrier.  Shelly left
the the box near a dump at a closed gas station on 290.  She
says they were not so much pets as hobbies, but she still felt kind of
bad for them (we wondered why the squeaking had stopped).  We
laughed quite a bit about it, poor Thelma Lou and Trinity.

~riding with our arms out the window as it got dark and cooled down,
feeling pockets of cold air every time we passed a clump of trees on
the side of the road.

~got to see the sunrise and the sunset from the same seat.

~Felt surprisingly good when we got to Grandma’s, and the only part
of me that hurt was my right heel (I had my flip-flops off too
long).  Didn’t drag till the next day.  God was really
looking out for us.

~So grateful to have enough cars to carry the whole family and our
stuff, and to have a place to go.  It’s so nice to be hugged when
you get there.

~Dreamed about home all night Thursday, couldn’t figure out where I
was when I woke up Friday morning (I never do that), and was sad for
the first time all week about our home.

~Had the TV on most of Friday afternoon/evening and started feeling
a little silly for packing up and leaving.  But then, it was a
Cat. 5 when we left, so we didn’t know better.  And I can’t
tell you how glad I was that God spared our area, even our favorite
spots in Galveston.  Would I have been glad if He hadn’t?

~Starting to realize home is with my family, not the house where we live.  My security does not come from my surroundings.

 

 

    My soul, wait silently for God alone,
         For my expectation is from Him.
     He only is my rock and my salvation;
         He is my defense;
         I shall not be moved.
     In God is my salvation and my glory;
         The rock of my strength,
         And my refuge, is in God. 
         
     Trust in Him at all times, you people;
         Pour out your heart before Him;
         God is a refuge for us.  Selah 

                                            
from Ps. 62

 

 

 

We are still in the Austin/Bastrop area, at my uncle’s.  The
traffic on Hwy. 71 is pretty bad; we may wait till tonight to
leave.  Praying that we’ll all stay alert all the way home. 
Hopefully I’ll be posting from home computers
soon.            

Thank you, friends, for all your prayers.