Thursday, August 11, 2011

Disapointment, in a nutshell

8/11/11 Proverbs 13:12 speaks to unfulfilled expectations. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick,” rang true yesterday until I chose to see “change” as from God’s hand and asked Him to continue to direct our steps.
Nutshell synopsis:
  • Difficulty enjoying the scenery-- Atlas needed to navigate as Mapquest didn’t have a clue, road signage was all but non-existent yet made the pursuit kind of fun.

  • Nippersink Lodge on Lookout Mountain (long on my bucket list of places to visit) somewhat resembled a quaint but eerie lodge from a bygone era----think, “The Shining”---only a swinging saloon style door to “rustic” bedroom and NO AC

  • No lodging available in either of the only 2 options in quaint/artsy/adorable Mentone, AL & not a single picture
  • Having to scratch next day’s brunch at the Wildflower Café

  • No birds on the short birdwalk at DeSoto State Park in Fort Payne
  • Dusk coming with no “safe” place to stay


The end result was acceptance----“flying by the seat of our pants “as hubby continued to drive “Miss Dotsy” toward Gadsden, AL, where Josh, from a CE classroom in New York secured us a hotel with a great, think “very reasonable price” hotel right on the road to our next day’s original destination. We became joyfully expectant to see where disappointment would lead.

8/10 Remembrances


8/10/11 No room. No birds. No energy to post blog. But God…… gave reminders of the good memories of the day, all part of a great trip, thus far. Today alone we had breakfast in North Carolina, lunch in Georgia and dinner in Alabama.
  • 59° temps.
  • Uncle Larry using his dictionary (like I do, according to hubby) to “hoist his own petard” as we all laugh and create verb forms for that noun.
  • Saying good-by to Larry and Marge with lots of hugs and pledges to “do this again.”
  • Sam & JoLynn considerately stopping for one more “Kodak moment” as we bid farewell to our Blue Ridge Mountain vista.
  • Hugging Don’s neck, JoLynn’s nephew, & rejoicing in his “no cancer” report at his new restaurant in Blue Ridge GA, SISTERS. Then the plans began to go somewhat awry.
Grateful for remembrance of God’s word.
The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)