Hot air balloon...

This morning I looked out my window....

And I saw this balloon, hanging in the air like a 2nd moon.

It wasn't even 9am yet, and someone was enjoying the cool morning air, letting the wind caress their face.

I've noticed that it has become significantly cooler in the evening and morning now, and as Jake and I went for our run last evening, gasping in great, cold fresh gulps of the crisp night air, I was reminded how good it is to 
be.

People who go for hot-air balloon rides have no choice to be in that space they're in.  They sit, they stare, they become fascinated by the amazing and picturesque views surrounding them.  

How many times have I caught myself running, running, running without stopping to see what's around me?

In the past couple of weeks Jake and I have been preparing, thinking, crying (me, that is), worrying (again, just me), praying for our support to come in, anxiously waiting to hear about what we'll be doing while we're in Brazil.  

I have been so completely
distracted.

Sometimes I'll look at Jake and notice that I haven't actually looked in his eyes yet that day.  I haven't been in that space with him.  

All of our preparations have been seemingly happening together, but I have been working independently of him, forgetting that we are a team and that we help each other out.  

It is so hard planning and preparing like this.  I'm used to having fun with Jake, doing the daily house life with him, not preparing, planning, hashing out ideas.  He is so good at that, so in tune with his imagination and mental capacities, and he comes alive while his mind is combating the hard stuff of life.  

Not to mention he's really, really stable.  i.e. he doesn't lose his crazy.

For this, I'm so grateful.  I need his strength, his prayers washing over me, his eyes looking into mine, reminding me that we're on this journey together.

phil 4:13 says, "i can do all things through christ who strengthens me."

I need to remember to give my worries of the future to the One who created life itself, and be mindful of His desires for my present.  I need to look my lover in the eye, and let this journey take us by the hand, as our Saviour guides us to places we have never dreamed.

Love,
Ashleigh