A Perfect Weekend

Last weekend I had Fall Break!  It's the first year we've been given a four-day weekend in the middle of the fall, and it was much appreciated!  Mark and I planned months ago to meet our friends in College Station for an Aggie football game, and we were thrilled to see the Aggies beat the Raiders!  However, this weekend ended up being better than we ever imagined.

First, we have to thank God that we got to Houston from New Orleans in 5 1/2 hours on Thursday night.  It's always a gamble when you drive the perilous I-10 through endless construction and traffic, and we are so thankful when we bypass traffic and have an easy drive home.

Secondly, we got to sleep in for 4 days!  It's so nice to not have anywhere to be and to wake up on your own!  No alarms, no stress, just rest.

Thirdly, beautiful weather allowed for a fun neighborhood cookout on my parent's driveway Friday night and Sunday night while trick-or-treaters ran by searching for candy.  It was incredibly entertaining to see the costumes and children scuttling by with sugar-highs.

Saturday was ideal, as we got to eat at our favorite College Station restaurants, Koppe Bridge for hamburgers and Rudy's for good Texas Bar-b-que!  We got to shop for Aggie paraphernalia, and got our first items of clothing for our little boy(s)...TEXAS A&M t-shirts!

Our seats were at the 35 yard line, first deck.  We eyed David Robinson just below where we sat, watched George Bush lead out the team, and of course sat in awe at the "Fightin' Texas Aggie Band".  The best news is that we played great and beat the Raiders!

We headed up to San Antonio after the game to stay with Laura and Ben (Mark's sister and brother-in-law). Unfortunately, we were meeting under sad circumstances.  Mark's grandmother is dying, and we were taking our last opportunities to visit her.  We spent a couple of hours with her on Sunday as she laughed and joked as usual about life...and death.  We wrote notes to her and were comforted by her peace, joy, and readiness to spend eternity with her Savior, Jesus.  There was no sadness, only joy for Grenna's life, ministry, and future in Heaven.

It made me think.  I want to go like that.  Wondering how much longer I have to "do this" because I can't wait to see Him.  I want to be ready; so much so that every moment I long more to see His face.  What a way to go.  There is NO better way to go, and the sad reality is that so many will suffer greatly at the hands of death. As if death isn't fearful enough, many will spend eternity in anguish at what might have been if they had only trusted Jesus.  This is the only sadness we feel as Grenna passes on...the sadness for loved ones who may not be ready...It hurts to leave behind loved ones you may not ever see again because they have rejected Christ.  I saw this anguish in her face this weekend, and it pained all of us.

With all of the fun, beauty, and complete delight I felt this weekend, there is no pleasure that eclipses the truth of our need for a Savior.  Every good thing in our lives comes from Him and He alone is worthy of praise.  What will happen when we die?  We all will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, but for some of us it will be too late.  What should we do then?  Become better people?  Go to church more?  Have a more philanthropic life?  NO!  We all fall short of the glory of God, no matter what we do!  We must rely on His grace and His righteousness.  That's the transforming, life-changing power of the Gospel.