Long Journey, Long Journey

Mark's room was on hold all week. Like an unused movie set, it was dark and quiet and peaceful in a disturbing way. Meanwhile, one floor above things were looking like a war zone. Wayne and Linda were playing "This Old House". The third floor loft is the master bedroom and yet it has somehow been missed during the decade long makeover. Then on a rainy day in July the roof in the rear dormer sprung a leak. That was it, our cue. So for the entire week that Mark was away and we were supposed to be experiencing a little relief from the daily grind, we were busting our backs.

After the first day of demo we looked at each other and wondered if we were completely nuts. As with all reno projects, it always ends up being worse than you thought, taking longer and costing more. By Wednesday evening it was clear that we were not even close to winning. With Mark coming home on Friday, winning would look like a clean house. So on Thursday we pushed our selves to get past the really dirty stuff. By 8pm I was up a ladder, leaning over a stairway, and hacking off a huge and useless part of this old house. It was probably a hundred pounds of hundred year old dirt, wood and plaster. It was stubborn but I was more so. Finally it came crashing down, safely. Then we tossed it all off the back roof. In the end the loft looked like a big mistake, a hole, a mess. So, how in this craziness does one find rest?

Linda and I have been married for 28 years. We have journeyed together through thick and thin. Unlike many of our friends, our marriage seems to come together in times of difficulty. We've almost always worked together and often dream about doing crazy things together. For our 25th anniversary we jumped on a motorcycle and went for a 2000 mile ride. We are a team and we find ourselves when we jump in over our heads. This week was rest simply because we were able to be ourselves, doing what we do best, and doing it together.

Having Marky back home is wonderful, but it means that we must set aside ourselves in order to care well for him. That's not such a sacrifice because, well because he's Marky.

As I write this post, Marky is in his bed, Mommy has climbed in too and their listening to Dan Robins singing Long Journey. The words remind us that life is a journey, a journey home. It also reminds us that we're not alone, we're journeying with Jesus.

Dad