Trip to Fort Myers

We were in Fort Myers, Florida last week. We flew down and rented a condo on the beach. We really enjoyed the sunshine and warm temperatures as we sat by the gulf each day. We felt so blessed to be able to get away from our routine in Fort Wayne.

The trip started out a bit melancholy when we arrived in Fort Myers on Sunday. As we drove from the airport to Fuddruckers, one of our favorite spots, we began to reminisce about our four-month visit to the area last year. That soon turned to sadness as we began to feel cheated by what cancer has taken away from us. We were “supposed” to be here for six months, not just a week. We were “supposed” to be living here, not just visiting. It was easy to feel robbed and cheated of what we were “supposed” to have.

Later that evening, as we talked about our trip, our attitude changed as we focused on how we had seen God’s hand at work on this trip. As followers of Christ, we don’t believe in coincidences. Instead, we choose to believe that God has once again demonstrated that He is with us.

Let’s see how many ways we have been blessed on this trip. I paid for our gas on the way to Indy with a gift card our friends gave us (unexpectedly) for giving them some of our furniture we were getting rid of. When we checked into the hotel at the Indy airport, we were upgraded to a nicer, larger room at no additional charge. Our parking at the Indy airport was free, because we had earned enough credits from prior flights. We flew Southwest Airlines and forgot to check in exactly 24 hours ahead of time. We were concerned that we might not be able to get seats together on this full flight. There were about 117 people ahead of us on the plane, but one of the exit rows had two seats together. I had the very seat on the plane that I would have selected if I could have picked any seat. When we checked into our condo for the week, we were upgraded to a more spacious room on a higher level with a better view than the one we paid for.

We can focus on what we don’t have or we can choose to focus on how we have been blessed. Our circumstances did not change between the time we felt robbed and the time we felt blessed. Only our attitudes changed.

In addition to our time relaxing on the beach and eating some delicious food each night we were able to meet up with some friends we met last year in Florida at the campground Bible Study.  They were gracious enough to come to Florida early so we could spend some time together. What a blessing they were to us as they encouraged us and prayed with us. Thank you Allan and Jo Ann for your support.

I couldn’t help but be reminded after we left Allan and Jo Ann that God has called us to live in community – not in isolation. We met this Godly couple because we chose to join a Bible Study. If we had not joined the study we would likely have never met them. They would not have been able to use their gifts to bless us and we would have missed out on a blessing. To be honest, I don’t remember anything that I learned in that study of Galatians. I do remember, however, the impact that several of the people in that study had on us.

This is one of the reasons our church attendance is so important. God’s gifts were given to build up the body of Christ. We can’t use our gifts if we are not connected to the body. It is difficult for the body to minister to us when we are disconnected from the body.  When I stay away from church it means I can’t use my gifts and others miss the opportunity to use their gifts to minister to me. Ministry is also lacking if I rush into church just before it starts and leave as soon as the pastor dismisses the congregation. We are called to be connected to each other in Christ.

Another round of chemo starts tomorrow. February 6 is the date for the next scans. We are praying and believing for significant improvement over the prior scans. Thank you for praying with us.