Kim's Post Cruise Post Feb 2007

2/22/07
Life doesn’t always turn out the way we would like it to. In fact, most of the time that’s the case because God in His infinite love and wisdom shows us His better plan. I have to admit these lessons were hard to receive over these past 2 ½ weeks. After 3 ½ years of working together, Doug and I have never had to be out at the same time because of sickness. But two weeks ago we were really juggling work, as I had a bad case of the flu and Doug was supporting his wife Sheryl with the medical challenges she faced. On top of all of that, we didn’t know if our families were going to be able to go on the Cruise that we had looked forward to for months, with Come Alive Cruises.

Those of you who follow our blog, know that Doug’s wife Sheryl has bravely walked through a lot of medical unknowns. In all of that I have to say I have seen my partner in crime (Doug) truly adore and care for his family in a way that pushed beyond what a normal husband and dad would be required to do. God’s refining at work! On top of that, Doug had to make the call the Friday before the cruise, to not take his family and we can see that it was a wise choice. Not a choice that made any of us happy, but a wise choice.

My family went on the cruise but not without some major distractions. We were sad that Doug’s family couldn’t make the trip (Doug’s Lauren and my Lauren and Alexia truly are great friends and have a blast together.) On top of missing Doug’s family, two days before the cruise, our cat Gracie ran away. We spent all our time before the cruise making up flyers and posting them and driving around asking our neighbors if they had seen her. We still have not found her.

I spent the first day and a half of the cruise wondering what God had in store for the week of the cruise. “Was something very special about this cruise getting ready to unfold?” and “ Is the enemy working overtime to distract us from that?” I believe that was the case. The cruise opened many opportunities for us to meet crew members and other cruise guests, who where not a part of the Come Alive Cruise event. On the last night of the Cruise, we invited those new-found friends to a concert that included Casting Crowns, Rebecca St. James, Downhere and Paul Baloche. At the end of the concert, a prayer was given for anyone who wanted to ask Jesus into his or her heart and some of those guests did that very thing! I knew then, why the enemy was so set on distracting me.

Now that we are back from the cruise and Doug and I are at full strength on the Morning Show, we still have some questions like “Why couldn’t Sheryl have been healed before the Cruise and where is my cat Gracie?” We don’t know the answers- but we trust the Author of our life who has “The Plan!”