Lessons From Spokane

I recently took a trip out to Spokane, Washington to visit some family (Uncle Tim and Aunt Leslie and my cousins, Margaret (and her husband Charlie), Joel, Spencer, and Eric). I had a terrific time, and everyone kept me really busy: Spencer’s baseball games, an afternoon at Loon Lake, Chemo w/ Aunt Les, an overnight at Priest Lake, cherry picking, bonfires on the beach, shopping, a wine and cheese party, live music at the Rocket Market with Joel, quality time at coffee shops, daily “revivifying” (that’s our word) swims with Aunt Les, and the list could go on. It was wonderful, to say the least. And did I mention that it’s absolutely gorgeous out there? And there isn’t humidity? Or bugs? I’m kind of in love with Washington.
In between and during all of our adventures, there were a few things I have taken away from my travels. (Most of these I probably gleaned from my chats with Aunt Les.)

1. We have a choice to make when we’re spending time with others. We can either spend time with people to seek assurance and gratify ourselves or we can spend time with others and seek to love and serve those we are with. The mindset you choose has a huge impact upon your attitude, actions, and of course, every single person you come in contact with.

2. Patient endurance is courageous. Patient endurance =Suffering through circumstances one would like to change but cannot. My aunt was saying how she didn’t feel brave to face her upcoming cancer-related surgeries, but she would patiently endure on a daily basis. I think that attitude is courageous…

3. You really should pray about everything. OK, so my Aunt and I were walking in downtown Spokane, gearing up for a shopping trip, and we had a mission. We were seeking jeans! Now, I have the hardest time finding jeans that fit, so this is always a challenge, but my Aunt wanted to find me a pair for a graduation present. So we prayed in the parking lot.
And we found a pair the first store we looked in. Amen!

4. So many of us are trying to be great when we only need to be good. We all (or most, I hope) have high standards and goals we aspire to, but when we discover we can't meet our own expecations, we find ourselves discouraged. We need to remember that merely being consistently “good” changes the world, too.

5. Look for evidences of God’s grace in the lives of those around you and then tell them.

6. You should pit cherries with a fork. (seriously, it’s so much faster :P)

7. Thank God for everything! And not just for the good things. Everything. Thank him for our sorrows and sufferings, because ultimately he has ordained them. (And he knows what he’s doing)

8. There needs to be boring, flat places like Iowa to make places like WA beautiful.

9. Another good coffee shop is always just around the corner…

Like I said, it was a great trip.