A day of travel...Bek style

Spend a week in California; enjoy the sun by a pool, smell the pacific ocean, go to a winery, have lots of laughs with your best friend. Final day of the trip starts off by getting ready, going to church, and head home to pack up stuff. Eat a burger at In and Out and mentally prepare for the next 6 hours of travel. 3 p.m. Arrive at LAX, get out of the car into wheelchair and put backpack on the shoulders with purse around my front. Need to check bag and pay 25 freaking dollars to stupid American Airlines. Hug Jenna goodbye after one of the best vacations ever and head into the airport. Start wheeling in the opposite direction the sky cap specifically directed. Realize elevators are the other way and turn around. Head up the elevator in order to find security to check in. Sit in line while listening to babies cry and foreigners complain about not getting to take their liquids with them. Wheel forward in the line after getting my ID checked. Take off purse and backpack, in that order. Unzip backpack and pull out lap top to go through the scanner. Leave all of my belongings behind with no one watching. Have shoes, wheelchair, and hands wiped and tested for drugs or anything else that can be hidden. Listen to the pat down procedure for the thousandth time. Lift arms and let the pat down begin. No worries, she uses back hand in the "sensitive" areas. Belongings are brought over by nice, security guard who smiles as he sets them on a nearby chair. Pat down complete with no surprises. Stuff computer back into backpack and glance at cell phone, 25 minutes until boarding. Make way to gate 40H. Surprisingly not the last gate like O'Hare. Head up to front desk to let the attendants know of my arrival and wheelchair. Ask for closer seat as they assigned 26C, not ideal for the disabled. Grumpy lady tells me to go sit down and she'll figure it out. Already seated, wheel ten feet away. Make arbitrary phone call while waiting. Head back when name called and receive closer seat ticket. Go to bathroom before boarding. Arrive back at 40H to people already boarding the plane. Grumpy lady attempts to board the entire plane before 2 wheelchairs get on. Epic Fail. Stops boarding for the aisle chair to wheel on two people, including me. Transfer to tiny aisle chair and awkwardly head inside the plane. Stop at Row 7, chair D. Stand out of aisle chair into airplane seat. Text important people before turning off cell phone. Take off. Sit for 4 hours, have two complimentary beverages. Fall asleep. Mentally finish crossword puzzle of the guy sitting in chair F. Descend for 20 minutes. Land. Turn phone on and text yet again. Wait for everyone to get off the plane. Get hit several times with too large of suitcases. Wait. Wait. Wait. Aisle chair arrives. Get off the plane and into wheelchair. Put on backpack. Head into empty O'Hare at 10 p.m. Find elevator. Troke towards gate number 4 for suitcase. Cell phone rings. Find mom and suitcase. Hug and kiss on head. Leave the airport. Get out of wheelchair into minivan front seat.

First day of life??

Its been forever since I have posted - I have tried writing and nothing amazing has come from it...Let's hope this works out better.

This summer has been a crazy one with working two different internships, hanging out with new and old friends, saying hellos and goodbyes, breaking legs, traveling around the United States and reading my Bible. Its been a roller coaster of amazing moments with friends and sadness of saying goodbye to close ones. I have been learning and realizing that despite whether its good or bad, I am truly blessed and that God is working it for good (Genesis 50: 19-20 - Don't worry this will show up later)

The past few days I have been reconnecting with some old, dear friends of mine and it has been one of the biggest blessings to learn about what is going on in their lives and how they are living their lives for God. I've always had a hard time saying goodbye to friends and people in general. I think its because I did it so much since I was the youngest of 8. This summer I've been learning that friends are sometimes in your life for only a season, sometimes they come back though. My friend Jesse was one of those friends this summer - God placed him in my life at the perfect time. We actually worked together but became even better friends. He was exactly what I needed - a friend, and just that. Jesse left in July for the Peace Corps. Although I do miss him, I am starting to understand that its not goodbye forever and that God had him in my life as long as he needed to be.

Breaking my leg was serious challenge for me this summer - I have an earlier blog about it. It was frustrating, painful and took wayy to long to heal. I just went to the doctor today and he told me I don't have to where my boot anymore and I'm about 80 percent healed. Praise God!! Again, this was extremely hard and one of those huge hills on the roller coaster but God used this for good. I cannot tell you how many people I got to share with what happened and even be a witness through it, and by that I mean complete strangers even. Sometimes I get angry at myself for tattooing "count it all joy" on my wrist because of the constant reminder which it offers.

I think I'll save talking majorly about my trip for another post but I went to Mississippi, St. Louis, and Chicago in two and a half weeks. While in Miss, my brother phil (his blog - http://philstalmud.blogspot.com/) talked a lot about the Bible. I told him about my struggle with not knowing what to read. He encouraged me and showed me a new way to read it. So over the past week or so, I have been reading Genesis with new and refreshed eyes. After discussion with Phil, he showed me that a key point of Genesis is that God takes everything for good, even if its intentions were of harm. *19 But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them NIV.* This amazing truth has helped bring a lot of healing to hurt and struggles that I have been dealing with this summer.

So many people have been asking me what the next step is in life, since I am a college grad. All my friends are starting their first day of school today, which really makes me want to be there. But I have to start this supposed "life." It's not easy, not that college was either, there are tons of twists, turns, uphills, downhills, and sometimes even getting stuck along the way. But I know that if I continue to hold God's promise to my heart - no matter what happens, "God has intended it for good to accomplish what now is being done, the saving of many lives vs. 20."