A Memorable Weekend

Our family spent a wonderful long weekend on Maui, with a couple of special highlights for Miss Abbie. The first, as you can see above, was her getting a chance to swim with her Daddy.

I was a little concerned about how she would react to the cold water, but as you can see...she loved it! She grinned the entire time she was in the pool, and so did Ray. My smile was pretty broad, as well.

There was some serious love flowing from Abbie to her Daddy, as she made googly-eyes at him. She especially enjoyed when he pretended to be her motor boat, and sped her around the pool.

The travel to Maui could not have gone any smoother, the weather was beautiful and the hotel was lovely. It's amazing when you can feel yourself being blessed as it actually happens. God gave us one giant sabbath to rest and recover, and it has worked wonders.

The other thing that amazes me sometimes is when other people view Abbie through the same lens I do, especially when they are strangers. The day we were leaving we spent the morning hanging out by the pool. A man named Mark walked up with his 7-year-old daughter, Brooke, because her interest had been sparked as they walked by the handicapped pool lift and then saw Abbie's wheelchair. So, they stopped by to say "hello" to Abbie, and ask just a few simple questions. They were so kind, and Abbie loved having a girl to chat with, even for just a few moments, since she was utterly surrounded by boys all weekend.

A while later, Mark and Brooke came back, with Brooke bearing the gift of a cute little penguin water toy for Abbie. Mark started talking directly to Abbie saying, "You know Abbie, when Brooke and I got in the water we started talking a lot about you. We decided that we see a lot of courage in you, a whole lot of courage. And, that you help take our fears away."

I was stunned by his choice of words, because not only is that what I see in Abbie as well, but from the beginning the Lord has been using this whole journey to rid me of every fear except the fear of Him. And, I was so thankful that Mark chose to speak directly to Abbie, and to acknowledge her so powerfully.

I am so thankful when God sometimes uses real people to speak real words that I can really hear. Below is a picture of Abbie, and her new friend, Brooke.