Day 5: We're Still Going

 A friend asked, (I'm looking at you Meredith!),  "Where's the update today?" Last night when we got back from the game, I had a slight headache and just didn't feel in the mood to write.  Not to mention nothing, big, exciting or out of the ordinary happened for us anyway, so there's that too.  Not that it wasn't a good day (it was!), just nothing big and special.  Well, unless maybe you are a Lange, because we did end up at Busch Stadium, and there are many in my family who are Cardinal fans.

But before we got there, we had to leave Atlanta....

And leaving Atlanta meant:

Again.  

Knowing we were going to be rushing from place to place with more time spent in the truck than in any one destination, I honestly didn't reach out to any friends or relatives along the way.  I knew we wouldn't have time.  I hated that decision, but we are on a tight schedule.  The friend I met up with the other day actually reached out to me.  She said we would be passing too close not to stop, and she suggested a rest stop so we didn't even leave the road on which we were traveling.  (On top of all those other wonderful things I told y'all about, this woman drove just under an hour ONE WAY to meet up with me at a rest stop for a quick visit.  Although we did spend a bit more time than we planned, because it was too much fun and no one wanted to say "good bye")  

We have another friend in Chattanooga.  I knew we would be passing through, and as much as I hated it, I knew we would not have time for a visit.  After reading my blog, this friend told me that we were within a mile of where he works.  I said, "I thought you lived in Chattanooga!" He does, he informed me, but he works a mile from the buc-cee's that we not only visited once, but twice.  Unfortunately we had this discussion after we were long past the area.  (Sorry, Joe!)

The morning  and afternoon were spent on the road to St. Louis.  So I gotta ask Tennessee, what is wrong with your vehicles? I felt sorry for our little Waze girl, because every other mile she was declaring, "Caution! Vehicle stopped on the side of the road." I am not exaggerating or making this up.  It was a constant occurrence going through 'The Volunteer State.'  (Don't get too smug Kentucky;  you weren't far behind.)

Mark and I are the types of people who do indeed take "Sunday drives".  Usually after church we find a new way to get home.  We meander back roads and enjoy seeing different scenery, farms, homes and how different people live.  

Apparently our Waze girl knew this, because yesterday we took the road less traveled.  We meandered down a long and winding road getting from one highway to another.  Not sure if our GPS was saving us from a buildup on the highway or if she was drunk, but meander we did.  And we loved it.  Out in the Illinois country side seeing farms with old homes and big barns.

I love capitalism.  I get it.  But thanks to the McDonaldization of America, traveling on the Interstates, one city pretty much resembles every other city.  Don't get me started on how many Cracker Barrels we have seen.  So taking a break and wandering through farmland was a most welcomed gift.

Most of our interstate driving looking much the same, I was able to finish reading THE BEST book in the entire world, besides the Bible.  Of course.  

In my opinion, EVERYONE should read this book.  I have no idea how many times I have read this book.  It has been my absolute favorite since childhood.  (Jenni, Dustin and Eden are now reading it together, and that melts my heart!) I also have no idea how many copies of this book I have bought.  Giving it away is one of my favorite things to do.  After reading this, if you want a copy for yourself, hit me up! Read it.  If you have already read it, read it again.

What makes this book so special? Oh my gosh, the Casper ten Boom family.  A modest Christian family making a simple living in Holland...and then the world goes crazy.  And their lives are turned every which way you can only imagine in a horribly cruel world. (Sound anything like how the world is today?)  Where do you go when the world no longer makes sense?  When evil reigns? When your lives are being torn apart? 

To God! 

Of course!

Always!

Absolutely!

God's Word tells us over and over how he is our refuge.  Our hiding place.  In Him alone can we find solace.  In Him alone can we find comfort.  

When an 80+ year old Casper ten Boom is told that if he will simply promise to behave the Reich, he wouldn't be arrested, his answer?  "If I go home today," he said evenly and clearly, "tomorrow I will open my door again to any man in need who knocks."  A few short days later he would be spared the horrors of the Reich; he would be with Jesus.

When Corrie is saddened by the beating her sister has been given, Betsie tells her not to look at the injuries, but to look only to Jesus.

Seriously y'all... read this book!

Eventually we landed at Busch stadium.  The Detroit Tigers were in town. (Shout out to my two Tiger friends: Amy and Corey.  That makes it sound like they are together.  They are not! They don't even know one another, but they are both from the Detroit area.)

While every city has its good fans, and every city has its jerks, some franchises have better reputations than others.  Friendlier and respecting of the opposing teams.  I will say the Cardinals gave a HUGE presentation for Miguel Cabrera (from the opposing team for those of you who are not baseball fans) for hitting his 500th homerun; which had happened a day or two prior and not at Busch stadium.  Complete with video and standing ovation. That's class. Only 28 players have accomplished this feat and, of those, only 7 (or 8?) are foreign born, as Miggy is. 

We enjoyed the game.  We enjoyed Busch stadium.  But it was a HOT, SUNNY day which played a part in the headache with which I began this blog.

Another good game.  Another good day.  Another opportunity to take his time and remember his father.

Onto Chicago.....