I have done ministry weekends, getaways with friends and snowboarding trips to this cabin. It has also been a super special place for Charles and I. I threw him a surprise birthday party at The Cabin while we were dating. We spent a day there with friends after a long weekend of Easter services. And my favorite, Charles proposed to me there with all the best details & fully surprised me (which is so, so hard to do).
On the first day of our long anticipated summer vacation in July my husband's father passed away. This was nothing short of hard and continued a process of grief we'd been in for a while and still are. This definitely changed things for the way vacation unfolded and it wasn't exactly filled with ease. When we came home we knew we needed to plan another getaway; something that involved less driving, a familiar place and cooler weather. THE CABIN! Our sweet friends are so generous to let this be like a second home to us and we couldn't wait to put it on the calendar.
Once we arrived I realized it was almost exactly 4 years to the day we got engaged in this special place (10.19.2012).
(Thanks to Kyle White for hanging out in a tree in the dark to capture these moments)
Our weekend was filled was lots of slow. We read (him more than me), starred outside as the clouds revealed and hid the lake, walked in the leaves and made meals. We sipped on lots of coffee, watched a little TV and left space for nothing, margin.
We made daily trips to the best little store, Jensen's. They even had beer tasting for $3 as we arrived. The perfect post traffic treat.
Breakfast, my favorite. Featuring pumpkin pancakes and a warm fire.
For reals, right after this photo he inhaled a leaf I threw and choked really bad. It wasn't pretty. Oops.
This is where we sat after our friends left the weekend we got engaged. This is where I realized we were going to pick a date and plan our wedding. We ate donuts and prayed for what was next. We sat here four years later remembering that moment and how significant it was.
It was pretty perfect. Well, for the most part, until we got a bad phone call on our last day. My new baby nephew had fought really hard but wasn't going to make it. My heart sank. And is filled with heavy. I don't know why, but sometimes this is how life goes. And this is how much of our year feels. Heavy. Hard. Challenging. And I can only imagine the pain my Brother and Sister-in-law feel.
I am so thankful for my husband and that we get to navigate the fun and the way less fun together. And for the tribe of people we have to navigate life with. The people who sit with us in the heavy, that offer support, that pray, that let us be messy. I cherish these people, especially in the midst of hard. May we be those people, too.
Jesus, may we trust in your goodness in whatever each day brings.
Especially when some days suck. A lot of days.
May live a life of gratitude.
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