I’ve not blogged for a number of reasons, and won’t be doing much more than posting pictures for a while.� But, hey – at least I’ll be posting again.� =)

I wanted to post about our vacation, so I’ll write a few lines and then get with the picture posting.

It’s been a rough couple of months.� Fast-paced, full of big, personal decisions and stressors.� Things have been building for a long time – no breaks from the everyday worries can build, and when you start dealing with bigger things, stress and exhaustion can overwhelm you.� It was perfect timing for a vacation.

We went to Myrtle Beach, as we have done every summer for the past few years.� This is always a wonderful trip – not only do we get to be right on the beach for a week, we also get to reunite with good friends and with my family.� Bill and Georgiana are two of the most generous and loving people we know – they open their home to 6 noisy and messy invaders every summer.� Now that Melissa’s overseas and we’re out here in Indiana, my immediate family is rarely completely together.� This is one of the few times a year that all (or most) of us can be found in one location, and it’s a much-needed reconnection.

For the first time in years, I completely relaxed.

David will laugh – being with my family can be anything BUT restful because we’re a lively, merry, and flat-out loud bunch.� But there’s always been a strong current of satisfaction with one another, of joy, that flows through every interaction we have.� Even the spatting.� =)� And then there was the calming influence and peaceful energy of good friends – Bill and Georgiana – to round out the atmosphere.

I didn’t work at all – on every other “vacation” I’ve taken in the past 3 years, I’ve had to bring work as a condition for getting the time off.� Now that I’m in a new environment, I was able to actually disengage from the work for a week.

I left behind the weight of recent weeks.� Heaviness, even while mostly balanced by peace (a true gift of God), has been my constant companion for two months now.� While I was gone, I just… rested.� And I was able to talk to my family about some of the things that have been weighing on me – having that support is already making a difference.

I came back to my life rested, more optimistic, and ready to face facts and challenges.� But in this world, there’s always sadness waiting to temper joy.� Friends are losing their jobs while I’m thanking God for my own.� People who work very hard and manage money carefully can’t make ends meet, and can’t get help from the state or the government – while people who wallow in their own laziness and selfishness make choices that harm their own families – and get paid to do it.

It’s hard to maintain cheer and optimism when so many are battered so roughly by life… I am grateful to have a well to draw from when I’ve reached the end of my strength.� How can people survive without a faith in something beyond circumstance and surroundings?