Frequent Flyer

I was home for a brief visit in June - really brief. In all, I was gone from Hollywood for 11 days. I spent 2 days in Denver, 1.5 in Wichita, 6 in Oklahoma with JROTC, and then 1.5 more in Wichita. (It is no wonder I make such a point of stopping to smell the roses)

----- WOAH! -----

Needless to say, by the end of it all, I was much in need of a breather. Can't say I really got one in Hollywood, the first week back I was right back to work - Wednesday, June 30 (2 days after my return) was big day for Outreach supporting a homeless connect day in the South Bay area. There aren't often moments to breathe on the golden coast, though - at least not when your tour guide is a non profit.

We did manage to get away, though, my roommate Kenna and I.

I have some amazing friends living on Coronado Island and have been more than hospitable to us on three occasions now. The first time they were not home and so let us know how to make ourselves at home. This second time they are and what wonderful conversation! I would have thought that I was looking for time away in this vacation, but truthfully, I was merely searching for time with the right people - close enough to Hollwood for a weekend, but far enough away that we can see a star or two in the sky.

Tonight was the best fun I have had in a very long time. We went for a drive after dinner around the island - locals definitely make the best tour guides! Jim and Marilyn (our lovely hosts!) have a ruby red slug-bug convertable and plenty of stories to tell about the island, as each of them lived out here toward the end of their high school years. The houses are incredible and so is the view - and the jokes.

These are the people whom we must cherish forever! The stories that we have here to share with each other in faith and for the sake of growing one another are invaluable, and I must say that I am impressed by how generously they are offered to us their home, their hearts, and their love.

God blesses us by planting angels discreetly all along the path that we must walk, and I wonder that we might have uncovered some this weekend. Amidst many hugs and promises to see each other again, we will bid them goodbye tomorrow morning and head back to Hollywood -but I know for a fact that here I have recharged, and next week my heart will be overflowing with the love that they have lent to me.

What a perfect weekend!