Chucktown

After a week away, and a couple of days to recover, the Anderson family is finally back to normal. Well, close enough. :) Our trip to Charleston, SC was much needed and very rewarding for us all. Our youngest, Nina Grace, spent the week with her grandparents in Manchester, and the rest of our family made the trek through four states to our greatly anticipated destination, Folly Beach. The trip from Manchester, with three stops, was eight hours. We arrived around 9:00 p.m., and didn’t waste another moment. We quickly ventured out to the sand to see the ocean and find some seashells.

On Tuesday, Seth and I took the kids into Charleston, and packed the day as full as possible. We saw Yorktown, rode a water taxi, had tea, visited the children’s museum, rode the trolley, ate at a nice restaurant (Hyman’s), and saw many of the famous sights. We strolled through the market, saw Rainbow Row, relaxed at Waterfront Park, and we let the kids play in the fountain there even with no extra clothes. I’m not sure what else we could have added to the day!

The rest of the week was filled with lots of pool time, some beach time, golfing, a carriage ride, several nice meals, and a couple of fire drills. :) Suffice to say, it was an eventful trip, and one I wouldn’t trade for anything. The kids were amazing, and loved every minute. Both overcame a couple of obstacles in the week spent away. On the first day, we took off Max’s arm floaties and discovered he could swim! And Maya finally overcame her aversion to the sand, and walked all the way to the pier on the last day with no shoes. Yay! Max and Maya stayed in the water constantly, and even rode in a few waves on the boogie board. Max built a sandcastle with Papaw, and Maya came home “as brown as a biscuit.” I don’t think they wasted a moment.

I think we counted a total of 12 things that went “wrong” on the trip, which included everything from finding no Entenmanns donuts at the grocery store to enduring a stomach bug. However, with 24 people I still call that a successful trip. I would go back tomorrow if I could! Well…make that next month. I’m still catching up on my sleep! Thanks to Mamaw and Papaw for the many ways they made the trip amazing, and to everyone else who had a great attitude and loads of patience.

See you all again next year!

Planting the Seed

As most of you know, I planted my first garden this year.  I came home on the day of our anniversary, and Seth had tilled the land in the far corner of our backyard.  He told me it was for my garden, and I was so eager to begin!  I went the following Saturday to the farmer’s market and got all I needed to plant tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, lettuce, potatoes, onions, and green beans.  Still, I was excited.  I came home and started digging, planting, and watering.

2 hours later, with a sore back and soiled hands, my garden was complete.  The word “disappointed” does not convey the emotion I felt when I looked at my little brown rectangle, filled with meager green sprouts.  Had I really spent my whole Saturday working on something that looks so bare?  *sigh* Yes, I had.  Despite my initial disappointment, my high hopes soon returned as I looked forward to what my garden would someday produce.

And then, the Lord took over.  He poured his blessings upon Lexington in the form of sunshine and rain, and my garden grew.  

He gave me time and energy to pull the weeds, and my garden grew.  Now, almost 2 months later, I see great potential from something that began so modest, and still my garden grows.

Man’s work has a limit.  We can only do so much with these bodies and minds created from dust.  I worked hard on my garden, but my work did not produce what is found in it now.  God’s work is unmistakable, and unattainable by man’s standards.  I’m thankful that when the Lord begins a work, he completes it perfectly and with greatness. 

Has the Lord begun a great work in you?  1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 shows us what some of us were before the Lord changed our lives.  Verse 11 tells us, "such were some of you."  If He has begun a work in your life, give thanks! His finished product will be unmistakable.