The Gift
Way back in the
day, Rob and I had a difficult time picking a honeymoon location. We had 3 destinations in mind – Alaska,
Australia/New Zealand, and Hawaii. After
some consideration, we ruled out heading down under, as it would just be far
too expensive to fly there. That left us
to decide between Alaska and Hawaii.
Alaska was so “us.” We could
hunt, we could fish, we could be in the mountains, we could camp, and we could
just be….”us.” So we expected that we
would be headed there for a vacation fairly soon anyway. After weeks of deliberation, we finally
decided that Hawaii was more of a once in a lifetime destination. We could go, see it, and then come home.
Hawaii was
great…we were a couple of rednecks turned loose on the small island of Kauaii –
it was pretty much just us and the locals!
It was GREAT! But after a couple
of days, we were ready to be home and in the mountains. In fact, as we made the long drive back from
Washington in old blue (Rob’s ’78 Chevy truck loaded down with wedding stuff),
and we topped the rise at Cardwell Hill and got our first glimpse of the
Bridgers, I started to cry. I was
home.
I had
miraculously drawn a moose tag my first try, so that fall we headed to the
mountains for a week in a USFS cabin…which cost us $25/night and some gas for
the ATV. And that seemed much more like
our REAL honeymoon. Because it was so
us.
I have never
regretted going to Hawaii for our honeymoon, because it was special. We got to do things we would never have an
opportunity to try again, like boogie boarding in the waves, snorkeling along
the NaPali coastline, a helicopter ride over the ocean…it really was a good
choice.
However, we
always planned on going to Alaska “in a year or two.” One year became two, two became five, five
became ten…and slowly, we gave up on that dream. Children came along with more
responsibility. Job changes. Income changes. The thought of going just seemed
unattainable. Most of our “vacation”
time was spent in September bow hunting camps or summer camping trips with the
family, or family weekend adventures in the mountains throughout the year. For a while, we aimed to go moose hunting in
Alaska for our 10 year anniversary, but that came and went and we pushed it to
our 20th anniversary. But
even before our 10th anniversary, we kind of gave up on the dream of
heading to Alaska. It just wasn’t going
to happen. Time to face reality and move
on with life. In fact, I have not seriously considered a trip to Alaska in
about 12-13 years.
Now here we
are, living with a terminal illness, and stretched finances. The Lord has continuously provided for all of
our needs throughout this time. Cards
came in the mail with cash in them. The
deacons at church check with us every month to see if we are short. My parents chipped in for some house
payments. There have been individuals
who shake our hand at church and slip a $10, $20, or even $100 bill into the
handshake. Cards appeared at Christmas
with anything from grocery store gift cards to some large checks. People have “anonymously” covered my kids’
school lunch accounts. We were surprised to have an athletic pass donated to
us, so we can attend the home games and support our pep band-er and school
teams without having to pay at the door each time. God perfectly timed last
January – Rob was fired the 6th – so he could collect
unemployment. We received a diagnosis on
the 13th, so we could start applying for disability. His unemployment ran out, and we had a couple
of thin months…then his disability came through on the first try, and was
retroactive back to almost the exact day his unemployment ran out! Prior to receiving disability, we were
concerned about making our mortgage payments.
Unemployment did not pay as much as his salary had been, and we knew how
long the process of disability takes, but we didn’t want to lose the
house. Rob had an old retirement
account, and he says, “well, I’ll never get to use that, I’ll be gone long
before I qualify for retirement” so we debated about using it to pay off the
house. We pulled out his latest
retirement account statement and then I looked up the payoff balance on our
mortgage…and they were the same…almost down to the
exact penny. Do you have chills
yet? How merciful and gracious is our
Father who lavishes every good and perfect gift upon us! We placed our trust in Him…and He has continually
provided.
We have a few
items on Rob’s bucket list – but not many.
Nothing too extravagant, but we are trying to take a few more
trips. Last fall we headed to Glendive
for a weekend to visit the Creation dinosaur museum and Makoshika State Park
where we found some cool fossils. We
would like to head to the big Creation Museum and Noah’s Ark out east
“sometime.” This past February, we
visited Rob’s brother in Denver for a long weekend.
When we came
home from Denver and went to church the following Sunday, I saw a suspicious
package in our mailbox. I recognized the
handwriting, but wasn’t sure what I would find inside. We piled in the car and I reached inside and
pulled out a small candy heart box. “Oh, isn’t that sweet?!” Then I noticed it had been opened and
re-taped shut. Hmmm…I know we are Dutch
out here, but this box only holds 5 candies to begin with…so I open it and it
has 4 or 5 taffies inside. Then a piece
of paper fell out of the lid that I didn’t recognize immediately as a
check. I looked, “Oh, it’s a check, how
sweet!” Now…let me explain
something. The check was folded in a
special way. So it looked like it was
written for one, normal
amount.
But then I
opened it.
And I almost
dropped it.
Behind the
“normal” amount, was written the word “thousand.”
Wait….
What?
My jaw sat in
my lap and I literally gasped for air…
WHAT???!!!
I cannot accept
this check!!
Rob, the kids
and I were all speechless…
This.
Is.
Ridiculous!
I take a few
deep breaths to calm my shaking hands and back the car out of the parking spot
and drive home.
I immediately
call my anonymous friend, “what did you do?!”
He laughs.
“No, I can’t
accept this! This is too much!”
He chuckles.
“What’s going
on?!”
“Well, now,
sometimes your ship comes in and the Lord just wants you to share it. But this comes with a stipulation. You have to use this money to take a family
vacation somewhere that Rob has always wanted to go. Can you do that?”
And the phone
is silent because I am speechless again.
I stammer, “um,
yeah, ya, I can do that, I mean, we can do that.”
At this point,
I am still thinking I need to be responsible and Dutch and use the money
sparingly, to pay off our home or something along those lines. Right until he says, “so, where you going to
go?”
More stammering
and stuttering….
“well, I mean,
we’ve always wanted to go to Alaska, but…”
Rob’s eyes and
ears perk up – “I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska!” he says.
Okay….
Alaska it is…
I stumble my
way through the rest of the phone conversation and thousands of “thank yous.” None
of this seems real yet.
We go to Sunday
dinner completely dazed.
Stunned.
Dumbfounded.
Flabbergasted.
Bewildered.
Astonished.
Stupified.
It took me at
least 2 weeks to realize the money was real.
I had to open a
special checking account.
I felt so
irresponsible going on vacation…but that is why the check was given to us…
And we
determined, that yes, indeed, we would head to Alaska.
There wouldn’t
be a big bow hunt for moose or dall sheep, but we could fish. And we can do it before Rob can’t do it
anymore.
Out came the
calendar, phone calls were made, google worked overtime, and it looked like we
could make it fit…and during the salmon run!
Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
So,
reservations were made, charters were purchased, and plane tickets bought.
As I stare at
the confirmation letter for our airfare, it finally dawns on me.
We ARE flying
to Alaska…for our 20th Anniversary…ON our Anniversary.
Chills.
Tears.
Goosebumps.
Overwhelming Gratitude.
Oh, Lord.
You are so
gracious and good to us!
Throughout this
whole journey, He continually proves, that He will care for our every need..and
then some…He is giving us some of our wants as well…in fact, He cares for us so
lavishly, that He is gifting us a want we had forgotten we even wanted.
One again, a
gift leaves me dazed.
Stunned.
Dumbfounded.
Flabbergasted.
Bewildered.
Astonished.
Stupified.
Overwhelmed.
God is
good. And loving. And merciful.
And full of grace. And
trustworthy.
What a gift!
Speechless.
