Part 5 ~ A Different Kind of Vacation: Grand Parents

Part 5 ~ A Different Kind of Vacation: Grand Parents

June 2016

The day I left Dr. T., after she told us we were staying put, I called my in-laws, Kert & Mary. I hit the in-law jackpot with these 2! They were on their way home with their camper, from a 3-week trip to WY to visit their eldest son and his daughter. They had remarked along their trip that they love to be away, but they love and miss their bed!

Prior to all of this medical stuff, we had planned a trip to the Creation Festival which is about an hour from where Kris’s parents live. Creation is a Christian music festival with Biblical speakers and Christian recording artists set on Agape Farm in Pennsylvania. I had gone almost every year when I was in Youth Group and even after! We would camp in tents and cook on a campfire and really enjoy our week away from the world! Kris had only been there maybe twice before I got sick. We had planned to take Bean since she had never been camping! She was so excited to sleep in a tent and we had just purchased a huge tent that could sleep about 10! Kris’s parents got 1 day passes and decided to come up on a day when one of their favorite bands would be performing.

I had just gotten home from my doctor appointment and had a little time before Bean would be home. I wanted to call them to let them know what all was going on and to ask them for a favor. A really HUGE favor! I called Mary’s cell and let them know what was going on and told them that we would need to see if they could take care of Melina for us while I was having various tests and procedures the following week. She said yes without any hesitation. I then asked her if they would take our tickets and take Bean to Creation. She said yes, again, without any hesitation.

We decided to tell Bean right away so that she knew what to expect. We had tried to be upfront with her about everything while at the same time not giving her too much information on my illness. We told her that mommy had to have a test done and the doctor said I couldn’t go on our vacation, but Grama & Grampa were going to take her to Creation and she’d get to sleep in the camper. She started crying. I felt so bad for her that we couldn’t go. I asked her if that was why she was crying and she said no. She was crying because she wouldn’t get to sleep in the tent! We thought she would have been super excited to sleep in the camper!

They arrived the day of my colonoscopy prep so that they could take Bean along back with them for Creation the next day. We traded tickets with his parents as our doctors gave us their blessing to go away for the weekend and relax before my upcoming surgery.

We left for Kris’s parents on Friday so we would be there for Creation on Saturday morning. We had a fun day checking out the camper and hearing about all the fun things they did and which concerts Bean had liked so far! Bean told us that there was a woman who had a sign that said she would pray for people and so she asked her to pray for me. I was so touched that she believed in the power of prayer! We had some good snuggles that day and were able to enjoy ourselves and forget our troubles for a little while!

God blessed me with these 2 parents-in-love that I couldn’t love more if I tried! They are good, salt-of-the-earth Christians who live life to the fullest! They are wonderful role models to those around them and are always doing things for others. I believe that God places people in our lives for a reason. He knows what our futures hold and gives us those who will help us navigate life’s ups and downs.

Matthew 18:2-4 ESV ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.