Florida

(Somewhere in Florida; 3/20/2010) As we left Florida behind this morning Ed made the comment that we had driven from one end of Florida to the other. My reply to that was "and I didn't come across any place that I thought I'd like to live." So we can mark Florida off of our "possible places to retire" list! Even though Florida is not for me it did provide me with a couple of "people encounters" that I am thankful for. After searching for my friend, Cathy Varenkamp Rankin, I finally connected with her on Facebook and was surprised to learn that she and her family now live in Miami! We were able to visit with her, meet her husband, Randy, and 3 of their 5 kids, Andrew, Shannon and Luke, have a meal, go to church, and visit some more. It was so good getting caught up and seeing and hearing all that God has done and continues to do in their lives. Her husband, Randy, is the Director of The Baptist Children's Home, a challenging job. It was a wonderful reunion and now that we have reconnected, her family will be in our prayers.

The other connection we made was with a young Chaplain, Doug Grace, who is in the Coast Guard in Key West. His spiritual care and personal concern for the 800 men and women at that base is one that would cause many people to lose heart. The easy access to all the temptations the area has to offer can suck these young kids in and lead to adultery, divorce, financial problems, poor parenting and all the pain that goes with that. His heart for his "coasties"--the men and women who serve there, and his desire to honor and glorify God before them was so encouraging. I may never see this young man again in this life but I know that one day I will see the fruit of his life on the new earth and I will be praying for him and his family from now on.

So while Florida is not the home of my choice, it did offer some refreshment for the soul and so I'm glad I came...I'm also glad I left!!!