As many of you know, our future son's middle name comes from the lake in which Jason's dad has a house. It's his refuge. His "happy place," if you will. This weekend, we were able to get some R & R up in the mountains of North Carolina at Saylor Lake.
While at Saylor Lake, the four of us (Jason, his dad, James, James' wife, Nancy, and me) spent time dreaming of what it would be like to bring Judah here. While Jason and I dreamed of driving up the mountain in our Edge, tricycle in tow, James dreamed of teaching Judah to fish. Nancy dreamed of telling Judah stories of the mountain from generations past, and we all agreed that we were anxious for "someday" to arrive.
After our dreams settled and the hazy, "it just seems so far away" look in our eyes began to fade, we began discussing the legacy that Judah will carry with him.
Long after Judah comes home, long after the days and weeks that seem to linger a little too long in this waiting stage, long after the short term passes, Saylor Lake will remain. It's a constant in our "hope for tomorrow" life. Not years, but decades from now, Judah will be able to take his children, and his children's children to Saylor Lake and share his memories, his family, and name with them.
That fresh mountain air must have cleared my head more than I anticipated. Each night that we were there, I dreamed of Judah, and what a privilege it will be to be his mommy. I'd wake up with tear-filled eyes, wishing I could hold on to my dreams a little bit longer, but they were gone before I even knew they were there.
As I lived the last few days at Saylor Lake, experiencing breathtaking scenery, restaurants that made me feel like it was 1965, and rejuvenating family time, I realized that in this ever changing world, we all need a constant, a legacy that we hold fast to no matter where we are in life.
I'm thankful to know that I serve a God who is constant, who never changes, never leaves, and never forsakes. He holds my life in His hands, and He holds Judah's life in His hands. He will bring us together in His time, in His way, and we will live together under His loving sovereignty.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”
