South Coast Rock Tour
~ Day 41 ~
Recharging…Forever Ann…Rubber Ball…Moving On.
I’m going to keep today’s journal entry short, though the 24
hours spent at Ann and her husband Dan’s abode felt longer in that each hour
was moved slowly through. When I got to their beautiful beach house yesterday,
I could have crawled in the spare bed and promptly fallen asleep. Instead, I
promptly parted with my damp and dirty clothes and hopped in the shower. Then
came the much-needed nap. I woke up at 7:30pm. Dan, Ann, and one of their 3
kids were watching the Super Bowl game. I picked up a small, colorful bouncy
ball at the bottom of the stairs and went up to main floor. A bowl of Dan’s
homemade coconut, chicken and vegetable soup over white rice was served to me
at the kitchen counter. I was still tired, but wanted to spend time with the
magnificent Macferran family. And that we did. Some of the game was watched in between
talking with this husband and wife who fell in love in college and have stayed
in love through the years.
I chose going to bed at 11pm over staying up to write. Good
choice, for deep, undisturbed sleep came for the next 10 straight hours. Woke
up super refreshed and bright eyed. Ann was doing mom-duty of taking the kids
to various schools and then she had a gathering with a friend. This gave me
time to write, organize Tumbler, and start the surgery on my backpack. Ann came
home at 11am to find me stitching the strap with a rope she gave me from their
garage. It worked well and I secured the strap both on the top and reinforced
the bottom. The two of us sat on the floor of the spare bedroom and talked
after the strap surgery. We could carry a conversation for days on end without
pause… yes, she is that cool. We migrated upstairs to the kitchen and continued
the conversation over large cups of leftover coconut soup. It tasted even
better today. Ann and I verbally covered a lot of territory for the next 3
hours. When she looked at the time, she let out a “Oh wow! I have to go pick up
my youngest daughter. Time just flew by.” It had flown, yet it was a beautiful
flight. I love Ann. Every person is special, but she holds extra specialness.
We will remain close friends even though we live states apart. I’m hoping God
allows me to merge paths with her on the return homeward adventure. You are
loved, sweet Ann, woman of Joy. Oh, and thank you for letting me take the
rubber ball with me on the journey. I named him Benji.
Tumbler had also been recharging overnight. He sat patiently
in the Macferran’s driveway. “You ready, Buddy?” I ran my hand along his hood
and opened the driver’s door. Took one last look in the rearview mirror while
pulling away from my friend’s home that had provided many things. Gratitude and
fresh adrenaline rushed through me as Tumbler pulled onto the main highway. We
drove to St. Augustine and took a tour of the historic town. I thought about
parking and walking around, but it seemed to be more of site-seeing city than a
rock-n-roll city. We got back on to Interstate 95 and then veered off on to A1A
that runs along the east coast of Florida. I got flicked off a few times, for
this farm girl was driving like she had no place in particular to be. And it
was true. The scenery was gorgeous and my hand sailed through the wind of the
open window. I flashed the peace sign at people who were flashing me a
different sign as they passed me. Tumbler and I landed in Ormond Beach, just
outside Daytona Beach. God would have us stay here for the next 5 days. Half of
those days would be beautifully busy and the other half would be serenely
still. There was purpose in both speeds. God is teaching me many things on this
journey, and one of them is the balance of allowing the Holy Spirit to use
oneself to minister to others and allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to one’s
self. The first is more effective when the second is applied.
Some friendships are flowers
That are in constant bloom.
Even from miles away,
Their fragrance is near.
Unshakable Peace and Purpose
Cling to the Rock
Psalm 18:1-2
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